SCOTLAND

Business: Government Assistance

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on assistance for small businesses in Scotland.

Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend continues to have constructive and helpful meetings on the economy and support for business with the First Minister, CBI Scotland and STUC.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Information and Communications Technology

Tim Loughton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many and what proportion of computers on the House of Commons part of parliamentary estate have been found to be infected with malware in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: In the past 12 months 86 per cent. of computers on the estate have been attacked by malware, 78 per cent. of which were cleaned automatically by Parliament's anti-virus software, with 8 per cent. needing a visit by an engineer. There are 4,991 computers on the estate.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answers of 24 April 2009,  Official Report, column 974W, on the Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry: legal costs, and 30 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 851-2W, on the Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry, in which financial year the legal costs paid in relation to the inquiry in each month since August 2008 were incurred.

Shaun Woodward: In relation to the lawyers working for the inquiry, I am advised that the costs paid in each month since August 2008 were paid in the same financial year as they were incurred. In relation to the lawyers representing interested parties and witnesses before the inquiry, I am advised that one payment was made in February 2009 to cover costs incurred from July 2001 to December 2004. The payment of these retrospective costs was delayed as they were the subject of lengthy negotiations on the final settlement.

Departmental Dismissal

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of staff in his Department and its agencies were dismissed  (a) for under-performance and  (b) in total in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: In the Northern Ireland Office, one member of staff has been dismissed for under-performance and 25 members of staff in total have been dismissed from 2002 to date. The following table shows a breakdown of dismissals since 2002.
	
		
			   Number of staff dismissed 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 5 
			 2007 8 
			 2008 4 
			 2009 2

Departmental Work Experience

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many work placements his Department offered to  (a) school pupils,  (b) university students and  (c) graduates in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office facilitates week-long unpaid work experience placements for GCSE students, as well as year-long paid placements for university students as part of their IT degree courses. In addition, the Department offers paid summer placements to undergraduates and graduates with disabilities or from ethnic minorities under a Cabinet Office programme to increase diversity in the civil service fast stream.
	The following table gives details of placements offered in the last five years.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 GCSE students 6 2 3 1 5 
			 IT sandwich students 4 3 3 0 0 
			 Summer placements 1 2 1 2 0

Security

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The 21st Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, published on 7 May, made clear that dissident activity in the period under review had been at its highest level since they started to report. The continuing high level of violent activity, often with the intention to kill members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland or other security force personnel, is an attempt to destroy the peace process.
	The completion of devolution will do more than anything to undermine the dissidents.
	I welcome the IMC's comments that both the UDA and UVF are beginning to address the issue of decommissioning. The Government's position is very clear. When the Secretary of State renewed the decommissioning amnesty for the final time in February, he asked the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning for a further report on progress in August. If there has not been substantial progress the decommissioning legislation will be brought to an end.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Local Government: Reorganisation

Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what criteria govern the  (a) definition and  (b) review of local authority boundaries by the Boundary Committee for England; what guidance the Commission has issued to the Committee on (i) the conduct of its work, (ii) whom to consult in defining local authority boundaries and (iii) the account to be taken in future reviews of new housing developments built close to existing local authority boundaries.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that when conducting reviews of local authority boundaries, the Boundary Committee for England can recommend to the Secretary of State the alteration of a local government boundary; the abolition of a local government area; or the constitution of a new local government area.
	The Committee must have regard to the need to secure effective and convenient local government; and the need to reflect the identities and interests of local communities.
	The Electoral Commission's role in relation to boundary reviews is limited to ensuring that the Boundary Committee has sufficient resources to carry out its programme of work. It has not provided the Boundary Committee with guidance or otherwise on the conduct of such reviews, who should be consulted or the matters that should be taken into account.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what data on the views of the general public were used by the Boundary Committee for England in formulating its options for consultation on the future structure of local government in Suffolk.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that in formulating its further draft proposals for public consultation, the Boundary Committee had regard to the representations made to it during its July 2008 consultations. All of these representations are available to view on the Electoral Commission's website.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much funding from the public purse had been spent by the Boundary Committee for England on the structural review of Suffolk local government on the latest date for which figures are available; and how much such funding is available for that review for the remainder of the 2009-10 financial year.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the total costs of the Suffolk structural review to 25 March 2009 are £282,535.
	For the financial year 2009-10, £269,782 has been allocated for the structural reviews of Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk. Costs for 2009-10 have not been broken down by individual review.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what proportion of town and parish councils which expressed a view on the Boundary Committee for England's structural review of Suffolk local government expressed support for one of its preferred patterns without modification.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that an analysis by the Boundary Committee of the level of support, or otherwise, from parish and town councils for patterns of unitary local government is not yet complete. Consultation on the Committee's further draft proposals for Suffolk ends on 14 May. After that date, the Committee will consider all representations received in deciding, what, if any, advice to provide to the Secretary of State. An analysis of the representations received will be published at the end of the review.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what ratio of residents to councillors is used in the business case for the pattern  (a) A and  (b) B option under consideration in the Boundary Committee for England's structural review of Suffolk local government.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the ratio of residents to councillors is not among the criteria that the Boundary Committee has used to identify its further draft proposals.

Local Government: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many of the responses to the Boundary Committee for England's July 2008 consultation on the structure of local government in Suffolk expressed the view that Lowestoft should remain part of Suffolk.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that of the 1,585 respondents who expressed a view on whether Lowestoft should be included in a Norfolk based authority, 1,326 respondents specifically stated that they considered it should be retained in a Suffolk based authority.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much  (a) her Office and  (b) the Government Olympic Executive spent on the purchase of (i) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and (ii) printer ink cartridges in each year since her Office was established.

Tessa Jowell: My Office has been part of the Cabinet Office since July 2007, while the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
	The Cabinet Office and the DCMS purchase recycled office supplies and printer ink cartridges in bulk, and it is not possible to apportion costs for my Office and for the GOE respectively.
	The Cabinet Office cost and DCMS costs will be outlined in the answers provided by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport respectively.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much her Office has spent on IT training for  (a) its staff and  (b) staff of the Government Olympic Executive in each year since her Office was established.

Tessa Jowell: My Office has been part of the Cabinet Office since July 2007, while the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) is part of the Department for Culture) Media and Sport (DCMS).
	The Cabinet Office and the DCMS have provided IT training for all staff who need it, but it is not possible to apportion costs for my Office and for the GOE respectively.
	The Cabinet Office costs and DCMS costs will be outlined in the answers provided by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport respectively.

TREASURY

Banks: Ireland

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the value of deposits held by UK citizens in banks in the Republic of Ireland.

Ian Pearson: As a matter of course, HM Treasury does not comment on individual financial institutions.

Individual Savings Accounts

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the number of people using Individual Savings Accounts of the measures announced in the Budget 2009.

Ian Pearson: ISAs are extremely popular, with over 18 million people now holding an account. The higher ISA limits announced at Budget for people aged 50 and over from 6 October 2009 and from 6 April 2010 for all savers, will allow all adults to save more tax-free, and could directly benefit over five million individuals who make full use of either their cash or overall ISA allowance.

International Monetary Fund

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the representation of EU member states by one voice at the International Monetary Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 2 April 2009
	Representation in international fora is a matter for individual member states. EU member states are individually members of the International Monetary Fund and are not represented by the EU or by a single voice. Co-ordination procedures between EU member states on international financial issues were agreed upon at the Vienna European Council of 1998 and developed subsequently in discussions among Finance Ministers in Oviedo and Copenhagen in 2002. The Government continue to support these procedural agreements.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the effect on house prices of the stamp duty land tax holiday for properties costing up to £175,000.

Ian Pearson: As a result of the holiday over 60 per cent. of UK housing is exempt from stamp duty land tax.
	No estimate has been made on the effect on house prices of the stamp duty land tax holiday for properties costing up to £175,000.

Taxation: Bingo

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the ruling by the VAT and Duties Tribunal in 2008 that the application of value added tax to bingo interval games breached the EU principle of fiscal neutrality for the application of VAT to bingo interval games.

Stephen Timms: No recent assessment has been made. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagreed with the decision of the Tribunal in the case in question and has appealed to the High Court. This appeal was heard in March this year. HMRC is awaiting the Court's decision.

TRANSPORT

Rolling Stock

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of levels of requirement for new rolling stock for the railways; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent assessment is of the level of requirement for new rolling stock for the railways; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Government are committed to the delivery of 1,300 additional carriages on the network by 2014 to provide additional capacity in our busiest cities. The Thameslink Programme will provide up to 1,200 new carriages for services in London and the South East and the Intercity Express Programme will provide up to 1,400 new carriages for use on long distance routes across the country.

Street Works: Permit Schemes

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of permit schemes for street works; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The permit scheme regulations were made on 28 November and came into force 1 April 2008. The Department is currently considering applications from Kent and from Transport for London and 13 London boroughs for permit scheme powers.
	Permit scheme applications are assessed against statutory criteria and the Secretary of State cannot announce approval unless applicants have demonstrated compliance with those criteria.
	We have undertaken to report to Parliament on the evaluation of the first implemented permit schemes, following their first year of operation.

Stations' Champions

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the remit of stations' champions is; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The two station champions, Sir Peter Hall and Chris Green, have been asked to advise on ways to improve stations, considering the broader role of stations in the future and the minimum levels of service and facilities that should be offered, as well as identifying improvements that can be made in the shorter term.

London-Scotland High-speed Rail Link

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on proposals for a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland.

Geoff Hoon: My noble Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, last met the Scottish Executive Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, and Transport Scotland officials on 24 April 2009, to discuss high speed rail.

Road Maintenance Standards

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role his Department has in setting standards for maintenance on local authority-maintained roads; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The maintenance of local roads in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities. It is for the local highway authority to assess which parts of the network are in need of repair, and what standards should be applied based upon their local knowledge and experience.

Speed Limits

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on proposed changes to speed limits; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Our consultation "A Safer Way" on road safety published on 21 April, aims to reduce road deaths by a third by 2020. We make a range of proposals and there are two carefully targeted to reduce speeds:
	(1) That local authorities reduce limits to 20 mph on roads of a primarily residential nature and around schools; and
	(2) That highway authorities reduce limits on the more dangerous rural single carriageways from 60 mph, where the evidence supports it.
	We have started receiving representations and the closing date is 14 July 2009.

A38: Cornwall

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve road safety on the A38 between Saltash and Liskeard; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Highways Agency has undertaken seven safety improvement schemes on this length of the A38 in the last seven years, improving highway infrastructure and increasing driver awareness of the varied characteristics of this route. A further nine schemes are presently being considered for taking forward subject to funding availability.

Aerotoxic Syndrome

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department is conducting research into a condition referred to as aerotoxic syndrome.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is conducting research into cabin air fume events which involves capturing samples of cabin air during normal conditions and fume events and analysing them to see what substances they contain and in what concentrations. The independent Committee on Toxicity (a panel including toxicologists from various universities) completed a substantial review of evidence in September 2007 and concluded that the evidence available did not establish a link between cabin air and pilot ill health, but nor did it rule one out.

Air Routes

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to restrict aircraft leased to fly UK routes to those of UK carriers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has no such plans.

Aviation: Redundancy

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he has had recent discussions with  (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and  (b) representatives of the British Airline Pilots Association on the development of a customised redundancy package for airline pilots; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the operation of age discrimination legislation on airline employers' selection of pilots for redundancy; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The pilots' trade union BALPA has written to me about the impact of the current economic situation on pilots, and I have offered to meet them.

Departmental Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 5,116,291 
			 2005-06 6,044,746 
			 2006-07 5,988,013 
			 2007-08 6,560,895 
			 2008-09 6,951,467 
			  Note: Above excludes: a. Contractual fixed costs at our main London HQ as the data is not recorded in the format requested. b. Spend at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as the requested data is not separately recorded 
		
	
	All costs relate to routine repair and/or replacement of existing facilities.

Departmental Contracts

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The following contracts have been outsourced by the Department for Transport since April 2004.
	
		
			  Department/Executive agency  Details of outsourced contact  Contract start date 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Estates PFI (Private Finance Initiative) providing FM (Facilities Management) Services to the DVLA Main Sites including the following services: February 2005 
			  Access Control  
			  Accommodation Helpdesk  
			  Accommodation Planning  
			  Building Maintenance Services  
			  Bus Services  
			  Catering, Hospitality and Vending Services  
			  CCTV Systems  
			  Cleaning Services  
			  Estate Management  
			  Fire Safety Services  
			  Furniture  
			  Grounds Maintenance Services  
			  Management Information  
			  Mechanical and Electrical Maintenance  
			  Pest Control Services  
			  Porter Services, Office Moves and Changes  
		
	
	The method of service delivery is kept under regular review with the objective of securing best value for money.

Departmental Furniture

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on furniture in 2008-09; and how much each of his Department's agencies spent on furniture in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The requested information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Central Department 301,143 — — — — 
			 Driving Standards Agency 484,340 375,000 112,000 48,000 86,000 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency(1) 1,646,713 1,809,701 1,809,701 651,315 2,918,758 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency(2) — — — — — 
			 Highways Agency 259,820 366,412 2,405,660 124,252 274,176 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 44,035 52,926 76,434 37,603 28,534 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 98,920 164,179 207,073 312,572 —(3) 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency(4) 109 9,571 0 0 90 
			 (1) DVLA expenditure on furniture in 2008-09 is distorted as a result of a major new build project and refurbishment project.  (2) Minimal expenditure incurred. Data not separately recorded.  (3) Not recorded.  (4) 2008-09 data is a draft figure not yet audited. Information on spend prior to 2005-06 not separately recorded.

Departmental Manpower

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 799W, on departmental manpower, whether his Department's practice of not keeping records of time spent by individual civil servants on the flexible benefits project is compatible with  (a) Government accounting rules and  (b) Government project management guidance.

Geoff Hoon: There is no requirement under HM Treasury's financial reporting manual to record details of the time spent by individual civil servants on individual pieces of work. The project is being run in accordance with project management methodologies.

Departmental Manpower

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 799W, on departmental manpower, what methodology his Department plans to use to calculate the cost of the flexible benefits project.

Geoff Hoon: The cost of the flexible benefits project is calculated by reference to the engagement of contractors, the purchase of licences, hardware and software and technology design configurations.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) BlackBerry devices and  (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport was formed in 2002 and includes seven agencies, a shared service centre and the central Department, with a total staff of over 18,000. The figures provided here are for lost and stolen mobile telephones and BlackBerrys for the entire Department including its Agencies and shared service centre. The figures provided do not include losses or thefts where records are not available, where equipment has not been procured centrally, or where such losses or thefts were not reported.
	The number of mobile telephones and BlackBerrys used by Ministers, special advisers and civil servants lost and stolen from the Department in each year since 2005 are as follows:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  Mobile Telephones lost by :  
			 Ministers 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Special advisers 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Civil servants 28 28 20 15 18 
			   
			  BlackBerrys lost by :  
			 Ministers 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Special advisers 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Civil servants 0 2 7 14 7

Departmental Official Hospitality

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: Expenditure by the Department for Transport on hospitality and entertainment in the most recent three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 648,657 
			 2007-08 737,971 
			 2008-09 694,991 
		
	
	Due to a major restructuring of accounting records, expenditure in years prior to 2006-07 cannot be provided on a comparable basis without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The Department adheres to the principles on the management of public money as set out in HM Treasury's handbook on Regularity and Propriety and has strict rules and cost limits on such expenditure, which in the main consists of refreshments at meetings with external stakeholders.

Departmental Stationery

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on branded stationery and gifts for  (a) internal and  (b) external promotional use in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: Expenditure by the Department of Transport and its executive agencies on corporate branded stationery and gifts in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	These costs include a range of materials bearing the Department's or agencies' corporate branding, including letterhead, envelopes, pens and items for exhibitions or conferences.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Financial year 
			  Department for Transport  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 DfT central 59,066 17,067 13,870 13,938 19,203 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (1)— (1)— 96,741.64 109,980.06 124,228.70 
			 Driving Standards Agency 4,891 32,120 31,515 57,301 133,722 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency (2)— (2)— 983 1,229 450 
			 Highways Agency 77,792 14,407 190,833 203,040 230,532 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 107,070 95,349 210,790 157,216 86,067 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 32,432 31,214 30,443 21,419 19,384 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 2,758.92 7,824.05 7,130.69 10,238 8,266.57 
			 Total 284,009.92 197,981.05 582,306.33 574,361.06 621,853.27 
			 (1 )No records available. (2 )Disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	The terms "stationery" and "gifts" are very broad. For the purpose of providing this answer they have been interpreted as any DfT or any agency corporate branded stationery such as letterhead, compliment slips or pens, or any piece of corporate merchandise that is corporate branded (e.g. slap wraps, pens, lanyards etc). Costs have also been limited to the production of materials and do not include storage or distribution costs.
	The Department also produces a range of materials under non-corporate brands in support of its objectives, such as the THINK! road safety brand, Act on CO2 brand and Transport Direct. These have not been included as the costs for materials using these brands are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The information for both  (a) and  (b) is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of office supplies purchased by his Department were recycled products in the latest period for which figures are available.

Geoff Hoon: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The IT training expenditure for the Department for Transport (central) and some of the agencies (i.e. the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), the Highways Agency (HA), the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) and part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The figures for the other agencies are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)  Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)  Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) 
			 2004-05 253,200 7,010 n/a 
			 2005-06 321,600 2,726 n/a 
			 2006-07 163,800 7,845 n/a 
			 2007-08 91,800 21,057 37,714 
			 2008-09 70,200 28,100 29,808

Driving Offences

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what sanctions will apply to motorists who drive in lanes reserved for authorised persons on the Olympic Route Network without authorisation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The sanctions for contravention of Traffic Regulation Orders to be made in relation to the Olympic Route Network under the provisions of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 are set out in section 15 of that Act. The Olympic Delivery Authority will aim to secure maximum compliance with the various traffic management measures in those orders through widespread publicity and communication in advance of the games.

East London Line

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds were offered by his Department to Transport for London towards the costs of building the proposed Surrey Canal Road station on the East London Line extension; what progress has been made on that offer; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A station at Surrey Canal Road is part of the Transport for London (TfL) sponsored East London Line extension project. The Department for Transport offered Transport for London and the Mayor of London an additional £7 million in the last financial year to take forward a new station at Surrey Canal Road. This offer was not accepted at the time, but I understand that Transport for London is carrying out further business case and regeneration studies associated with the scheme, working with the relevant local authorities in the areas.

Food

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an estimate of the  (a) monetary value and  (b) quantity of waste food disposed of from his Department's premises in the last 12 months.

Geoff Hoon: Within the Department for Transport, on-site catering services are only available at the Department's main headquarters building in London, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) sites in Swansea, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) residential training facility in Bedfordshire and at the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) HQ in Bristol.
	The requested information is not recorded at our London HQ nor is it recorded at the VOSA HQ in Bristol or at the DVLA sites in Swansea. The DSA estimates that in the last 12 months it has disposed of 1,200 kg of waste food.

Holidays

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what data sets his Department collects in respect of the ATOL-protected holiday scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is not involved in the management of the Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) scheme and therefore does not collect any datasets in this regard.
	The ATOL scheme is managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and protects those consumers who book an ATOL-protected holiday from losing their money or being stranded abroad as a result of travel company insolvency. I would refer the hon. Member to the CAA's website for more details:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=27

Landing Rights

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of the airline industry on the alleviation of the 80 per cent. use it or lose it practice regarding landing slots at UK airports; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and a number of officials from the Department for Transport have had discussions with representatives of the airline industry regarding the European Commission's proposal to suspend the 'use it or lose it' (UIOLI) rule under the EC Airports Slot Allocation Regulation.
	While we recognise the value of the UIOLI rule, we support the Commission's proposal to suspend it on a temporary basis to help airlines through the current economic downturn and prevent unnecessary flights.

Light Dues

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much total revenue was received by  (a) Trinity House,  (b) the Northern Lighthouse Board and  (c) the Commissioners of Irish Lights in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what proportion of this related to ships moving between UK ports.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Light dues are collected by Trinity House on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport who administers the General Lighthouse Fund. The published annual accounts of the General Lighthouse Fund set out all other sources of income from the three General Lighthouse Authorities that is paid into the fund.
	The table shows the gross light dues collected in the last three financial years within the operational areas of each of the authorities.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 England and Wales (£) 61,293,332.54 58,007,105.46 60,579,057.92 
			 Scotland and Isle of Man (£) 5,242,269.55 5,523,631.75 5,123,619.65 
			 Northern Ireland (£) 539,408.70 568,376.25 568,838.50 
			 Total (£) 67,075,010.79 64,099,113.46 66,271,516.07 
			 
			 Republic of Ireland (€) 4,613,978.64 4,764,691.47 4,122,936.68 
		
	
	Information on the destination or port of departure of vessels is not collected when light dues are paid so it is not possible to show what proportion of dues collected related to ships moving between UK ports.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many duplicate copies of road tax discs have been issued due to processing errors  (a) to the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby and  (b) other vehicle keepers in 2009 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Two duplicate tax discs were sent to the hon. Member because of an error. The same error resulted in 62,255 other tax discs being sent to vehicle keepers in error. Since the Electronic Vehicle Licence application system went live in February 2004 it has issued over 35 million tax discs. This is the only occasion on which an error like this has occurred.

Pedestrian Crossings

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of pedestrian crossing lights having an option for a longer crossing time for disabled pedestrians.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport (DfT) has made no specific assessment of the merits of pedestrian crossing lights having an option for a longer crossing time for disabled pedestrians. Local authorities are responsible for setting appropriate crossing times on their crossings, reflecting local conditions.
	The relevant guidance issued by DfT, Local Transport Note 2/95—'Design of Pedestrian Crossings', states that it may be desirable to extend the green man period if there will be considerable use by disabled pedestrians. The DfT also recommends the use of 'Puffin' (pedestrian user friendly intelligent) crossings that use detection technology to adjust the crossing period, depending on walking speed.

Railways

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger miles have been travelled on railways in Great Britain in each year since 1979.

Paul Clark: Table 1.1 of the 2008 edition of Transport Statistics Great Britain shows the following levels of passenger kilometres travelled by rail in each year since 1979:
	
		
			  Year( 1)  Billion passenger kilometres( 2) 
			 1979 35 
			 1980 35 
			 1981 34 
			 1982 31 
			 1983 34 
			 1984 35 
			 1985 36 
			 1986 37 
			 1987 39 
			 1988 41 
			 1989 39 
			 1990 40 
			 1991 39 
			 1992 38 
			 1993 37 
			 1994 35 
			 1995 37 
			 1996 39 
			 1997 42 
			 1998 44 
			 1999 46 
			 2000 47 
			 2001 47 
			 2002 48 
			 2003 49 
			 2004 50 
			 2005 52 
			 2006 55 
			 2007 59 
			 (1) Rail data are recorded in financial years. (2) 1 kilometre = 0.6214 mile. 
		
	
	'Transport Statistics Great Britain 2008 Edition' is available on the Department for Transport website at the following link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/tsgb/2008edition/

Railways: Electrification

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reason is for the time taken to publish the findings of the cross-industry working group assessing the case for electrification of rail lines.

Paul Clark: Network Rail is co-ordinating the work of the cross-industry electrification group and has agreed an extension in the publication timetable with the Office of Rail Regulation.
	The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London, N1 9AG

Railways: Expenditure

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) others incurred on railways in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: Details of historic expenditure on the railways is set out in "National Rail Trends" which is published by the Office of Rail Regulation. Copies are available in the Library of the House and online at
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Railways: Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the scope of his Department's powers is to alter the level of Control Period 4 funding; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Periodic Review settlement may be revised by means of an interim review. The Office of Rail Regulation may trigger an interim review if it believes that the settlement can no longer be funded as agreed. In forming its view, the Office of Rail Regulation is required to take account of any representations from the Department for Transport.

Roads: Devon

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is able to take to expedite the approval process for the South Devon Link Road; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: It is important that public funds are used as effectively as possible. Our local major scheme approval process is therefore designed to ensure that a scheme offers value for money for the taxpayer.
	The Department for Transport is liaising closely with Devon county council as we continue to assess the major scheme business case for the proposed South Devon Link Road. Further information has been requested from the promoters on sections of the Business Case that required clarification. Once the value for money assessment is completed, consideration will be given to granting initial funding approval for the scheme.

Roads: Devon

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent assessment is of the effects of the construction of the South Devon Link Road on the South Devon economy.

Paul Clark: The major scheme business case for the proposed South Devon Link Road submitted to the Department for Transport by Devon county council and Torbay council included an economic impact study report which considered the potential economic impact of the proposed Kingskerswell bypass between Newton Abbot and Torquay in South Devon.
	This report concluded that the proposed bypass could generate a range of benefits for the economic and wider development of Teignbridge, Torbay, South Hams and the surrounding areas of South Devon.
	The Department is liaising closely with Devon county council as we continue to assess the major scheme business case for the proposed South Devon Link Road.

Roads: Safety

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what requirements there are upon  (a) the Highways Agency and  (b) local authorities to conduct safety impact assessments prior to the installation of Trief kerbs;
	(2)  what guidance applies to the width of roads on which Trief kerbs are installed.

Paul Clark: The Highways Agency's requirements for Road Safety Audits on trunk road schemes are set out in HD19/03 of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. This document prescribes the requirements for undertaking safety assessments for scheme inception, design development, construction, opening to traffic and monitoring. The safety implications of road restraint systems would form part of this assessment.
	There is no centrally determined requirement on English local authorities to conduct safety assessments prior to the installation of Trief kerbs on the roads they manage. This is a matter for individual authorities. There is no centrally produced guidance on the width of roads on which Trief kerbs are installed.

Rushenden Link Road

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the time taken to construct the Rushenden Link Road; what recent reports he has received on progress in construction; what steps he is taking to ensure the timely completion of the project; and what recent discussions he has had with the project funders on funding commitments to the project.

Paul Clark: Kent county council are the commissioning body for the Rushenden Link Road and as such have responsibility for overseeing progress on delivery of the scheme.
	The Department for Transport is not providing any funding and no discussions have been held with the project funders in relation to their funding requirements.

Rushenden Link Road

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what budget has been agreed for the construction of the Rushenden Link Road; from what sources such funding is expected to be drawn; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) have jointly committed a total of £12 million to the Rushenden Link Road. As the Department of Transport is not providing any funding, further details on the breakdown of funding sources would need to be sought from the funding stakeholders, HCA and SEEDA.

Rushenden Link Road

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much each funding partner has committed to the construction of the Rushenden Link Road.

Paul Clark: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 12 May 2009,  Official Report, column 647W.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what data his Department collects on the use of cameras which measure average speed in order to monitor the performance of individual local partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport does not routinely collect or require data to be submitted on the use of speed cameras, although the Department's guidance does recommend that speed and collision data are collected by partnerships. However, the Department has an interest in the effectiveness of all road safety interventions and so from time to time requests evaluation work from delivery partners. For example, as part of two wider rural demonstration projects supported financially by the Department, Norfolk and Lincolnshire county councils are proposing to install permanent average speed enforcement cameras during the next year. Because these are demonstration projects the Department will receive information about the impact of these cameras alongside the other road safety measures being implemented locally.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare Act 2006

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he has issued since July 2008 consequent on the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The following documents have been issued since July 2008 in relation to the Animal Welfare Act 2006:
	 (a) Statutory instruments made by the Secretary of State:
	None.
	 (b) Guidance:
	None.
	 (c) Other documents:
	Consultation on the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats (November 2008);
	Consultation on the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs (November 2008);
	Consultation on the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Equines (November 2008);
	Consultation on new Regulations and Code for Meat Chicken Welfare (January 2009); and
	Consultation on proposals for Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations (April 2009).

Animals: Exports

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live  (a) calves,  (b) adult cattle and  (c) lambs and sheep were exported to each country of destination for (i) slaughter and (ii) further fattening in 2008.

Jane Kennedy: Table 1 as follows gives the number of live sheep recorded as exported from the UK in 2008 as recorded in HMRC official overseas trade statistics. These are provisional figures and subject to amendments.
	Please note these figures are obtained using VAT records and will exclude some EU trade for businesses which are below the VAT threshold. As a result, actual trade levels may be higher than those given, particularly for trade with mainland Europe.
	Table 2 gives information on GB exports in cattle from the GB Cattle Tracing System. The Cattle Tracing System is updated on a daily basis and hence these figures can be subject to amendments.
	It is not possible to identify those animals which are for slaughter or further fattening from either data source.
	
		
			  Table 1: UK exports in live sheep by country of destination, 2008 
			  Short description  Long description  Destination  Number 
			 Sheep live Lambs (up to a year old) Irish Republic 8,767 
			  sheep other than pure-bred breeding animals and lambs up to a year old Irish Republic 33,607 
			  Note: 2008 data is subject to amendments.  Source: HM Revenue and Customs. Data prepared by Trade statistics, ESP, DEFRA. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: GB exports in live bovine by country of destination, 2008 
			  Country of destination  Calves (under 12 months)  Adult cattle (12 months and over)  All bovine 
			 Belgium 13,881 241 14,122 
			 Denmark 4 3 7 
			 France 11,935 54 11,989 
			 Germany 35 85 120 
			 Hungary — 16 16 
			 Italy 986 1,830 2,816 
			 Netherlands 17,424 69 17,493 
			 Poland — 50 50 
			 Republic of Ireland 285 3,065 3,350 
			 Spain 1,924 170 2,094 
			 Total 46,474 5,583 52,057 
			  Note: 2008 data is subject to amendments.  Source: GB Cattle Tracing System.

Bluetongue Disease: Vaccination

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to stockpile vaccines against bluetongue serotypes (a) 1 and  (b) 6; what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk for such serotypes to reach domestic livestock; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Vaccines for bluetongue serotypes 1 and 6 are not currently licensed for use in the UK. DEFRA is in discussion with potential vaccine providers, the veterinary profession and industry stakeholders about plans for 2009 and beyond.
	Meanwhile, DEFRA continues to work with other European member states for strict control measures to contain the threat of other BTV serotypes in Europe, and will continue to conduct double post-import tests on all imported animals for all bluetongue serotypes. We also have an agreed policy for controlling incursions of any new serotypes under the existing UK-wide bluetongue control strategy.
	DEFRA remains alert to the spread of these, and other serotypes, through Europe, and monitors the risk carefully. Experts at the Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright, and meteorologists at the Meteorological Office provide advice on incursion scenarios which DEFRA uses to inform and revise policy as appropriate.
	Nevertheless, the UK remains at risk from bluetongue, whether from re-emergence of domestic disease, from wind-borne spread from the continent, or through animal imports. This risk is likely to remain for some time, depending on the success of control measures in other countries.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered after testing positive for bovine TB in each of the last three years; what estimate he has made of the number to be so slaughtered in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Bovine TB cattle( 1)  slaughtered in England between 2006 and 2008 
			   Number 
			 2006 16,007 
			 2007 19,827 
			 2008 27,455 
			 (1) Includes animals testing positive to gamma interferon testing, IRx3 , Inconclusive Reactors (IRs) and Direct Contacts (DCs).   Source:  Provisional data, as downloaded from the Vetnet TBiC system on 2 March 2009. All data has been taken from TB Programme Statistical Notice December 2008. 
		
	
	Due to the unpredictable nature of bovine tuberculosis, it is not possible to estimate the number of cattle that are likely to be slaughtered in England throughout 2009.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many routine tests for bovine TB were undertaken in each of the last three years; how many of these tests indicated reactors; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The number of bovine cattle tests for England for the last three years, compared to the total number of cattle slaughtered as indicated reactors can be seen in the following table:
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 Number of cattle tests(1) 4,131,821 4,326,989 4,637,294 
			 Number of cattle slaughtered as reactors(2) 14,587 18,570 26,038 
			 (1) Includes animals testing positive to gamma interferon testing. (2) Includes IRx3 and gamma interferon positives.  Notes: 1. Provisional data as downloaded from Vetnet TBiC system on 2 March 2009. 2. All data has been taken from TB Programme Statistical Notice December 2008.

Cattle: Disease Control

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered as  (a) reactors and  (b) dangerous contacts in connection with the randomised badger culling trial in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The design of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) considered the number of TB breakdowns within trial areas at the herd level and not at the individual level. Data on the number of individual reactors and dangerous contacts slaughtered in connection with the RBCT can be obtained from VetNet, DEFRA's bTB control and surveillance system. However, this would be the subject of a separate data analysis exercise, which would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Common Agricultural Policy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA Ministers and officials have held regular discussions with the European Commission on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in particular during the CAP Health Check and in relation to presidency agriculture agendas. We are continuing to seek far reaching reform of the CAP, working with stakeholders, the Commission and other member states.

Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons he has decided to bring forward proposals to amend the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 as it applies to private animal keepers in relation to the keeping of exotic pets; and what timetable he has set for bringing forward such proposals.

Jane Kennedy: In response to long-standing demand for reform of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, DEFRA has substantively reviewed the Act. The most recent public consultation on proposals to amend the main body of the Act, to make it less burdensome on local authorities and keepers, was undertaken last year.
	The proposals are intended to provide an improved and better focused licensing and enforcement regime in line with the "Hampton principles" of better regulation. Current public safety benefits will be retained while reducing the level of burden on keepers and local authorities, who administer and enforce the Act.
	The amendments are being progressed via a Legislative Reform Order and the intention is that the changes will come into force in October 2009. New guidance for keepers and local authorities will be published to assist implementation of the Act.

Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) the Local Government Association and  (b) local authorities on his Department's proposals to amend the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

Jane Kennedy: All local authorities in England and Wales, together with the Local Government Association, have been fully consulted with regard to the proposed amendments to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, most recently during the last public consultation in 2008.

Departmental Buildings

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Expenditure incurred by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on building maintenance is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 8,261,466 
			 2005-06 9,624,001 
			 2006-07 9,403,900 
			 2007-08 10,702,929 
			 2008-09 11,362,235

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) assessment and  (b) research has been undertaken by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) the Waste and Resources Action Programme on the accuracy of bin weighing technology in relation to the collection of household waste.

Jane Kennedy: No such assessment or research has been undertaken by DEFRA, its agencies, or the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the accuracy of bin weighing technology.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 27 March 2009,  Official Report, column 789W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, whether the role of the Waste Improvement Network extends to providing information to local authorities outside the South East.

Jane Kennedy: The Waste Improvement Network (WIN) is targeted at local authorities throughout England and registered users are spread across all nine regions, including the South East. Anyone is welcome to register (including non-local authority users) and there are also a number of registered users from authorities outside England.

Flooding Lessons Learned Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on the resilience procedures recommended in the Pitt Report on flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA Ministers and officials maintain regular contact with Regional Resilience teams in the Government offices on a range of issues concerning the recommendations set out in the Pitt report, in particular to maintain a dialogue on progress against the action plan that the Government have set out. This includes regular contact with Local Resilience Forums concerning multi-agency flood planning and preparedness.

Inland Waterways: Olympic Games 2012

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the dredging of Prescott Lock is due to be completed.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Dredging a route for freight barges entering the Olympic Park via Prescott Channel off the tidal River Lea will be completed by 31 May 2009.

Inland Waterways: Olympic Games 2012

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the weight of site material for the construction of the Olympic stadium, associated buildings and infrastructure which has been delivered to the site via Prescott Lock.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The new lock on Prescott Channel does not formally open until 5 June 2009. Responsibility for traffic to and from the site lies with the Olympic Delivery Authority, which has a publicly stated aspiration of moving 50 per cent. of materials by weight by sustainable means (i.e. rail and river). An award of Freight Facility Grant made to British Waterways by the Department for Transport was based upon 1.01 million tonnes of materials being delivered to the site via Prescott Lock for a minimum period of three years beginning from 31 August 2008.(1)
	(1) Figures supplied by British Waterways.

Litter

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) prosecutions have been made and  (b) fixed penalty notices issued by each local authority in England for (i) dropping of litter and (ii) dog fouling in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Tables showing the data (covering those periods in which latest statistics are available) for litter and dog fouling offences have been placed in the Library of the House.

Livestock: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the veterinary profession on cost sharing for the eradication of animal diseases.

Jane Kennedy: Departmental Ministers meet regularly with representatives of the veterinary profession to discuss a wide range of animal health and welfare issues, including responsibility and cost sharing for animal health.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to reply to the letters of 9 February and 1 April 2009 from the hon. Member for Billericay on a constituent, Mr G Lane.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I replied to the letter of 9 February and follow up letter of 1 April from the hon. Member for Billericay on 5 May.

Milk: Imports

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many litres of liquid milk were imported into the UK from  (a) Ireland,  (b) EU member states and  (c) other countries in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Liquid milk imports are shown in the following tables. Liquid milk is imported into the UK in two forms, as raw milk for processing by dairies in the UK, or as liquid drinking milk (e.g. pasteurised or UHT milk).
	Imports of raw milk come from the Republic of Ireland for processing by dairies in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Imports of raw milk for processing into the UK—2008 
			   Million litres 
			 Irish Republic 41.3 
			  Source: DARDNI 
		
	
	Liquid drinking milk is imported mainly from the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, France and Germany. There were no recorded imports of liquid milk from Non-EU countries during 2008.
	
		
			  Imports of liquid drinking milk into the UK from the EU—2008 
			   Million litres 
			 Irish Republic 54.4 
			 Belgium 27.4 
			 Netherlands 21.6 
			 France 17.2 
			 Germany 12.8 
			 Other EU countries 0.6 
			   
			 Total UK imports from EU countries 134.1 
			  Source: HMRC

Pig Industry Task Force

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to announce the appointment of members of the Pig Industry Task Force; and what its objectives will be.

Jane Kennedy: Members of the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force were appointed prior to its first meeting on 18 March and announced in a DEFRA news release on 19 March. The membership is as follows:
	Stewart Houston: NPA/BPEX
	Barney Kay: NPA
	Mick Sloyan: BPEX
	Richard Lister: Industry
	John Hughes: Tulip
	Bill Thurston: Vion
	Adrian Dowling: Bowes of Norfolk
	Bernard Hoggarth: Cranswick
	Simon Galkoff: Whitbreads
	Nick Scrase: ASDA
	Simon Twigger: Sainsburys
	Colin Holmes: Tesco
	Andrew Thornber: Morrisons
	Jan Anderson: Yorkshire Forward
	Tricia Henton: Environment Agency
	Susan Knox: Consumer bodies
	Ian Platt: Baxter Storey
	The consumer and the supply chain will benefit from the work of the taskforce on issues such as clearer labelling, better pig herd health, greater public sector procurement of higher welfare products and environmental requirements. The principle aim is that the taskforce will significantly contribute to the long-term resilience and profitability of the supply chain.
	Further information on the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force can be found on the DEFRA website.

Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government have  (a) taken in the last 12 months and  (b) plan to take in the next two years to protect (i) horses, (ii) ponies and (iii) donkeys from the effects of cruel tethering; who his Department consulted prior to seeking the repeal of the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Protection of Cruel Tethering Act 1988 was repealed under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 as part of the Government's policy to consolidate and modernise a number of pieces of animal welfare legislation. My Department consulted all the main animal welfare and equine groups as part of the consultation we held on the Animal Welfare Bill in January 2002. An analysis of the replies to that consultation can be found on the DEFRA website.
	At the end of last year, DEFRA completed a public consultation exercise on a code of practice for the welfare of equines. All the main equine animal welfare groups were consulted on the code. The draft code covers all domestic horses, ponies, donkeys, and hybrids (including mules), and includes specific guidance on tethering. Once we have considered the responses to the consultation, we will then ask Parliament to approve a revised code.

Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received since 2006 on the repeal of the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: We have received no such representations.

Renewable Energy: Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the provisions of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 Schedule 1, Part 2, Section 1.1 apply to products that have satisfied the end of waste criteria and are used to generate electricity; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The question of whether any particular waste has been fully recovered and has ceased to be waste must be determined on the facts of the case and taking into account relevant case law on the definition of waste. The Environment Agency is responsible for the implementation of waste management controls in England and Wales.
	However, DEFRA has made funding available to enable the Environment Agency to develop end-of-waste protocols, which help determine the point at which certain waste streams have been fully recovered and have ceased to be waste. One such protocol has been developed for waste cooking oil, and its practical effect is that waste cooking oil treated to the standards set out in the protocol may be burned without being subject to waste management controls.

Rivers: Pollution

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidences of river pollution were reported in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Incidences of reported water pollution are detailed in the following table. The incident data held on the Environment Agency's National Incident Recording System do not specify whether the pollution was to rivers or other watercourses. The following data are therefore for all pollution incidents which had an impact on water.
	
		
			  Pollution incidents with an impact on water 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Category 1 (major impact) 115 100 88 68 74 
			 Category 2 (significant impact) 595 566 520 458 359 
			 Category 3 (minor impact) 10,916 10,222 9,488 8,878 8,184 
			   
			 Total 11,626 10,888 10,096 9,404 8,617

Swine Flu

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the World Organisation for Animal Health on the effect of strain H1N1 of influenza on the animal kingdom.

Jane Kennedy: We have been closely monitoring the statements of the World Organisation for Animal Health (the OIE) on the new variant Influenza A/H1N1. Contacts with the OIE are normally made though the offices of the European Commission. We have maintained close contact with the European Commission and other member states on this subject since the situation began.
	To date the information available from all sources indicates that infection with the new variant Influenza A/H1N1has occurred primarily in humans. The Canadian authorities reported on 2 May 2009 that this infection was also identified in a herd of pigs in Alberta, Canada. This single report from Canada indicates that this strain readily infects pigs and is of low pathogenicity to pigs. It is not possible to be certain that this virus will infect and affect other pigs in the same way, nor any other animal or bird species. To date there are no other reports of infection in pigs (or other animals). We understand that a joint OIE/FAO mission has taken place in Mexico where areas of further co-operation with Mexican authorities have been discussed. We would expect to see a report of this mission in due course.
	Apart from this information from Canada, the possible effect of this strain of H1N1 influenza on the animal kingdom is unknown.
	The OIE is collaborating with the EU, WHO, UN FAO and a network of reference laboratories and collaborating centres (including Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge) in scientific investigations on the current situation and whether this strain of H1N1 is capable of infecting other animal and bird species.
	The issues of novel influenza A/H1N1 virus will also be on the agenda at the EU member states Chief Veterinary Officer's Council meeting in Brussels on 12 May, 2009.

Swine Flu

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent guidance his Department has issued to keepers of pigs on swine influenza; and what restrictions there are on the importation of  (a) pigs and  (b) pig meat in respect of swine influenza.

Jane Kennedy: We have not found the new variant Influenza A/H1N1 in pigs in the UK and continue to maintain our surveillance. The Food Standards Agency's advice is that the novel influenza A H1N1 virus does not pose a food safety risk to consumers. It has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating pork and pork products.
	Our advice to pig keepers is that they should stay out of contact with pigs if they have influenza signs. We also continue to advise pig keepers to ensure they have good biosecurity procedures in place, something which is important at all times. Our information to pig keepers also includes details of the surveillance programme for swine influenza which DEFRA has been funding since 1991.
	European Community rules only permit imports of live swine from approved third countries and pig meat products from approved plants in those countries that have agreed animal and public health certification in place. Countries such as Mexico, which are not able to meet the certification requirements, are not permitted to export live swine and pig meat products to the European community.
	All animals and meat, which can only be imported to the European Community from approved third countries, must be accompanied by veterinary certification which must confirm, among other things, that live animals have been examined by an official veterinarian within 24 hours of loading and showed no clinical signs of disease.
	Meat must have been derived from animals which have been subjected to a veterinary inspection during the 24 hours prior to slaughter.
	Animals and meat imported into the European Community from approved third countries must enter at designated Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) where they are subject to veterinary inspections.

Waste Management

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 826W, on waste management, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the stakeholder group.

Jane Kennedy: The minutes of each meeting of the Waste Stakeholder Group have been placed in the Library.

Waste Management

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's Waste Strategy in reducing levels of waste; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Waste Strategy Annual Progress Report 2007-08 provides an assessment of the impact of the waste strategy, including on waste arisings and waste sent to landfill. It was published on 10 July 2008, and can be downloaded from the DEFRA website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/strategy 07/index.htm
	The next Annual Progress Report update on the impact of the Waste Strategy for England 2007 is due to be published later this year. This will be available via the same web link.

Water

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what research his Department has conducted on the effect of projected population changes on water usage;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the likely effect of projected increases in the population on levels of consumption of water in  (a) England,  (b) the South East and  (c) each Government Office administrative region.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Water companies have statutory duties to maintain adequate supplies of water.
	In April 2007, it became a statutory requirement for water companies to prepare and maintain water resources management plans. These plans look ahead 25 years and include projections of current and future demands for water. They describe how the companies will meet this demand in order to meet their supply obligations.
	These plans are regularly updated. They must take account of relevant factors, such as climate change and the most up-to-date information available on housing numbers and population forecasts for their water supply area, provided in the Government's Regional Spatial Strategies and the relevant local authority's Local Development Plan.
	Water resources management plans were subject to public consultation for the first time in 2008.

PRIME MINISTER

Chequers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to publish the list of guests who have attended Chequers since the date of the last publication.

Gordon Brown: A list of guests who have received official hospitality at Chequers is published on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 2008-09 will be published in the usual manner.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to reply to the letter of 26 February 2009 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on multinational companies.

Gordon Brown: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 903W, on departmental pay, what the hourly rates of pay of non-permanent members of staff working in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each such month.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the last five years DCMS has spent the following on IT training for its staff:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 11,115 
			 2005-06 15,351 
			 2006-07 14,400 
			 2007-08 43,549 
			 2008-09 40,383

Gambling

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the results were of the Gambling Commission's mystery shopping exercises for 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ensure that all remote gambling operators take steps to prevent under 18s from gambling via the internet, the Gambling Commission undertakes a rolling programme of mystery shopping exercises. While their initial focus was on UK-licensed operators, the Commission has recently extended these exercises to look at a number of websites licensed overseas but accessible to UK residents, including those in EEA states and Gibraltar as well as those on the 'whitelist'. Further details of those exercises will be published as soon as practicable, and in the Commission's annual report.

Gambling: Advertising

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what differences there are in the legislative requirements relating to white list approval for advertising gambling services in the UK between online gambling companies based in  (a) Alderney and  (b) Antigua and Barbuda.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All applications for the white list were carefully considered against the Government's published criteria in consultation with the Gambling Commission, HM Treasury and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Though there will inevitably be differences in legislative requirements between jurisdictions, the overriding consideration for the Government are to ensure that each jurisdiction is able to meet the standards we require.

Gambling: Advertising

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether officials of his Department visited Antigua and Barbuda prior to its inclusion on the white list.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No officials from my Department visited Antigua and Barbuda prior to their inclusion on the white list.

Mass Media

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to monitor the effects on the media industry of patterns of ownership in that industry; and what recent discussions he has had with the  (a) Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and  (b) the Office of Fair Trading on the effects of patterns of ownership on the newspaper and broadcast media industry.

Andy Burnham: We are examining the media industry as a whole, including the current ownership structures, in the lead up to the Final Digital Britain Report, which will be published in the summer. In the Interim Digital Britain Report we invited the Office of Fair Trading, with Ofcom and other interested parties, to undertake an exploratory review across the local and regional media sector and make appropriate recommendations. We expect the results of that review to be available alongside the Digital Britain Report, which is a joint project between my Department and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	In addition, Ofcom are conducting a statutory review of ownership rules and should report back to me by the end of the year.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to reply to the letter of 29 January 2009 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire transferred from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 March, reference: 123460/SW on the future of motorsport at Croft motor-racing circuit.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I apologise for the delay in responding to the letter of 29 January 2009 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire transferred from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 March. I shall reply shortly.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many and what proportion of child maintenance cases in North East Fife constituency payments were made  (a) for the correct amount and (b) on time in each of the last five years.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 22 April 2009
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about child maintenance, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as child maintenance is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	.
	The information required to answer your question on the accuracy of maintenance payments collected from non-resident parents and issued to parents with care is not available. However the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS) contains the latest available information at a national level on the accuracy of maintenance assessments carried out by the Child Support Agency. The latest version of the QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html
	It shows that in the 12 months to March 2009, 84% of current scheme assessments and 91% of old scheme calculations were accurate to the nearest penny.
	The Agency aims to make maintenance payments to the parent with care within a week of receiving money from the non-resident parent. The latest information available for North East Fife constituency is set out in the attached table which shows the number and percentage of payments made to parents with care for each of the last five years and the time taken to make the payment. Over the last year, 97% of payments were made to parents with care within 7 days of the money arriving in the Agency's bank account compared to 90% in 2004/5.
	
		
			  N umber and percentage of payments made to parents with care in the North East Fife constituency, for each of the last five years, and the time taken to make the payment 
			   Payments made within April to March each year: 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			 7 days and under 1,800 90 3,000 94 3,800 90 4,400 92 5,600 97 
			
			 Over 7 days 200  200  400  400  200  
			  Notes: 1. Only includes receipts and payments for cases held on the current computer system (CS2) and represents 70 per cent. of the Agency caseload. Management information is not available for the 30% of cases held on the old computer system (CSCS). 2. Information provided calculates time between receipt arriving in Agency's bank account and the Agency forwarding payment to the parent with care.  3. Payments allocated to parents with care in North East Fife by matching the residential postcode of the parent with care against the Office for National Statistics Postcode Directory. 
		
	
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of the  (a) Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and  (b) Child Support Agency have been transferred to his Department in the last 12 months; and to which areas of his Department such staff have been transferred.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 11 May 2009
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about child maintenance, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as child maintenance is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff of the (a) Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and (b) Child Support Agency have been transferred to his Department in the last year; and to which areas of his Department such staff have been transferred.
	In January of this year and in consultation with Jobcentre Plus the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission brought forward a reorganisation of its people and estates to enable the transfer of staff and estate to Jobcentre Plus. It is currently planned around 630 people and 8 sites will be transferred to Jobcentre Plus by the end of June 2009. This transfer of people and estates contributed to the Department's plans to increase Jobcentre Plus staffing to maintain service to the increasing numbers of clients coming to Jobcentre Plus as a result of the economic downturn.
	The Commission's business plan, published on 7 May 2009 anticipates reducing resources over 2009/10 to reflect the changes in legislation, and efficiencies in how we administer the current statutory maintenance scheme. This planned transfer of staff in effect brings forward the reduction in headcount and facilitates a strategically desirable reduction in the number of small 'satellite' offices the Commission needs to manage. The Commission will continue to recruit as necessary into its major sites to maintain staffing levels.
	I can confirm that to date the Commission had transferred a total of 475 people and five sites to Jobcentre Plus with around 155 people and the remaining 3 sites due to be transferred by the end of June 2009. I can confirm that in the preceding months from April 2008 to November 2008 when the Commission took responsibility for the Agency, there were no compulsory transfers of people to the Department or its agencies.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: All expenditure on entertainment (also known within the Department as hospitality) is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 135,567 
			 2004-05 91,259 
			 2005-06 133,979 
			 2006-07 196,892 
			 2007-08 50,267 
			  Note: The figures for 2008-09 are not yet available.  Source: General Ledger

Departmental Training

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not hold records on the information requested centrally; individual business units retain records locally and as such this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance: Lone Parents

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of transferring all lone parents whose children are under seven years from income support to employment and support allowance would be in 2009-10.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 23 April 2009
	There are approximately 460,000 lone parents on income support with a youngest child under the age of seven. Assuming that this remains constant:
	the additional cost of paying all lone parents with a child under seven the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) work-related activity component (£25.50 per week) is estimated to be £610 million per annum;
	the additional cost of paying all lone parents with a child under seven the ESA support component (£30.85 per week) is estimated to be £740 million per annum.
	As this is not Government policy these costs assume that:
	there is no assessment phase for lone parents, and the components will be paid for lone parents at the start of their claim;
	the conditionality regime for lone parents on ESA would be the same as under income support for lone parents.
	 Note s :
	1. Costs are rounded to the nearest £5 million, and reflect only the extra cost of paying the additional amount of benefit.
	2. Costs depend upon caseloads. The average number of lone parents on income support over the last year was 460,000, but higher numbers would mean higher costs, and vice versa.

Food

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an estimate of the  (a) monetary value and  (b) quantity of waste food disposed of from his Department's premises in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: In the 2008-09 financial year, the total food waste disposed of by the Department's suppliers was 39,755 kg. This covers both waste from the preparation of food, waste from service counters and customer plate waste.
	The monetary value of this is not held centrally and collating it would incur disproportionate cost.

Health Hazards: Retail Trade

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to assess the implications for optical health of the positioning at child's eye height of class 1 laser scanners in shops and supermarkets; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 already requires those responsible for shops and supermarkets to make such assessments and to ensure that any risks identified to employees and the public (including children) are properly controlled. Class 1 laser devices are in the safest class under the UK safety standard BS EN 60825-1:2007 - "Safety of Laser Products; Part 1: Equipment Classification and Requirements"

Jobcentre Plus

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many branches of Jobcentre Plus there are in  (a) England and  (b) the East Midlands; and how many of these are in (i) urban, (ii) semi-rural and (iii) rural areas.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the acting chief executive to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question on how many branches of Jobcentre Plus there are in (a) England and (b) the East Midlands; and how many of these are in (i) urban, (ii) semi-rural and (iii) rural areas. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There are 579 Jobcentre Plus offices open to the public in England of which 53 are within the East Midlands region. We do not separately categorise Jobcentre Plus offices open to the public by urban, semi-rural or rural areas but our public facing network is designed to provide reasonable access to our services throughout England.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants to train full-time for 13 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants under 24 to train full-time for  (a) 13 and  (b) 26 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Even in the current economic climate, we would expect most customers to move into work relatively quickly without the need to re-train in new skills. Our policies will continue to help them to do that to avoid the costs, both to individuals and to Government, of delaying a return to work and keeping people on benefits for longer than necessary. There is therefore no current basis on which to make estimates of the costs of extending the training opportunities described to customers from the start of a claim.
	Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) recipients can train for up to 16 hours per week alongside active job search.
	They may also undertake up to two weeks of full-time training in any 12-month period, without jeopardising their benefit entitlements. Additionally, from 6 April anyone who has been unemployed more than six months can study full time for up to eight weeks on a job related training course approved by an employment adviser (operationally we do this by transferring the customer to a training allowance).
	People from disadvantaged groups, or those for whom lack of basic skills is a barrier to employment, are eligible for training support from day one of unemployment. Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers are also able to agree early access to the job-search and training support offered by the New Deal for people whose circumstances may make it particularly hard to find work.
	In addition, the Government announced last autumn that additional funding of £158 million has been made available through the European Social Fund for the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain programme for people who are newly unemployed or facing redundancy to undertake training linked to opportunities in the local labour market for up to two weeks full time and up to eight weeks part time.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Minister of State for Pensions plans to reply to the email of 13 March from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on the winter fuel allowance and a constituent.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 May 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member on 12 May 2009.

Pension Credit

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households receive pension credit; and what the average weekly amount paid in pension credit to such households is.

Rosie Winterton: As at August 2008, there were 2,723,530 households in receipt of pension credit, with an average weekly award of £52.80.
	 Notes:
	1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Pension Credit: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension credit recipients live in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency.

Rosie Winterton: As at August 2008, there were 55,680 households in receipt of pension credit in Essex and 4,190 households in receipt in Castle Point.
	 Notes:
	1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Pensioners

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes there have been to the financial support provided by his Department to those aged over 65 years.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are spending £13 billion more on pensioners this year than if we had continued the policies of the previous Government.
	Between 1997-98 and 2008-09 pensioners benefited from above-inflation increases in the basic state pension, with pensioners better off by 7 per cent. in real terms than if the basic state pension had been increased only by prices over the same period. From 6 April 2009, the basic state pension increased by 5 per cent.—this is the highest percentage increase since 2001.
	From 6 April 2009 the pension credit standard minimum guarantee increased to £130 a week for single customers and £198.45 a week for couples—this above-earnings increase was the highest since pension credit was introduced in 2003.
	In 2007-08, winter fuel payments were paid to over 12 million people and have helped over 8.8 million households. Winter fuel payments are worth £200 for those aged between 60 and 79 and £300 for those aged 80 and over. For winter 2008-09, the Chancellor announced an additional payment of £50 for those aged between 60 and 79 and £100 for those aged 80 and over resulting in payments per household of £250 and £400 respectively. This increase will be repeated for winter 2009-10.
	The Government have also announced that the capital threshold for pension credit (and housing benefit and council tax benefit for those who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) will be increased from £6,000 to £10,000, bringing it into line with the threshold for those living permanently in care homes. This change will take effect from November 2009 and will allow these customers to retain up to £10,000 of capital before it affects their benefit. This change represents a generous increase in the capital thresholds for pension credit recipients and a significant simplification to the benefit. Half a million pensioners stand to gain from this change, with an average weekly gain across all benefits of £4.
	The Government have also committed to maintain the standard interest rate applied in the support for mortgage interest scheme at 6.08 per cent. for a further six months until the end of December 2009; this will help those on pension credit who receive help with their mortgage.
	The higher amounts of income tax personal allowances for those aged over 65 are substantially higher than the personal allowance for those aged under 65. For the tax year starting on 6 April 2009, the personal allowance for people aged 65 to 74 has been increased to £9,490 and the personal allowance for people aged 75 and over has been increased to £9,640. For the tax year starting on 6 April 2011, pensioners aged 75 and over will not pay tax on incomes under £10,000.
	Council tax benefit makes an important contribution to the financial security of around 2.6 million pensioner households. The Government have already simplified the claims process to make income-related benefits easier to claim. Since November 2008, pensioners can claim housing benefit and council tax benefit with pension credit, entirely over the phone without having to fill in and sign a claim form.
	In addition, we are writing to over 200,000 pension credit recipients in May to encourage them to contact their local council to check if they are entitled to council tax benefit or housing benefit.
	Last winter the Government also increased the Christmas bonus to £70 for all those who meet the eligibility criteria with £10 being paid before Christmas and the remainder in the new year.

Pensioners: Standard of Living

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission research on the quality of life of pensioners in receipt of pension credit; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We are currently undertaking research on this issue. We have developed new survey questions about pensioners' living standards and these are currently being asked on DWP's Family Resources Survey. These questions will provide information on the quality of life of a range of pensioners, including those in receipt of pension credit. The information will be available in spring 2010.

Social Security Benefits: Eligibility

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether people remaining on incapacity benefit are to be reassessed by the eligibility criteria used for those seeking to claim the employment and support allowance;
	(2)  what eligibility criteria apply to those claiming employment and support allowance which do not apply to those claiming incapacity benefit.

Jonathan R Shaw: Individuals who apply for employment and support allowance will be asked to undertake a work capability assessment which will be used in determining their eligibility for the benefit. This differs from those currently claiming incapacity benefits, who will have undertaken a personal capability assessment. The work capability assessment follows a similar format to the personal capability assessment, as a points based assessment, but has been developed to provide a more accurate assessment of an individual's limited capability for work in the modern workplace.
	The new assessment is more positive than its predecessor, focusing on what an individual can do as well as what they cannot. It includes a work focused health related assessment which helps individual's identify and consider ways to overcome their specific challenges to work. The mental function aspect of the assessment has also been expanded and developed to take better account of cognitive and intellectual function.
	We have announced that we plan to migrate existing recipients of incapacity benefits to employment and support allowance. Recipients will have to undertake this same work capability assessment.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Drugs

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been allocated from the Strategic Programme Fund to assist  (a) the Afghanistan counter-narcotic strategic priority and  (b) other projects involving Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 12 May 2009
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has allocated £21.9 million from the Strategic Programme Fund (SPF) in support of counter-narcotics work in Afghanistan in 2009-10. In addition to this the Counter Terrorism and Radicalisation Programme of the SPF has allocated £5.4 million for projects in Afghanistan for 2009-10.

British Council: Finance

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to page 131 of the 2009 Budget Red Book, what changes will be made to the  (a) activities,  (b) staffing and  (c) priorities of the British Council to achieve the proposed £18 million of savings.

David Miliband: The British Council committed to £18.2 million of efficiency savings between 2007-08 and 2010-11 as part of its comprehensive spending review settlement. As agreed with the British Council, these savings will be realised by:
	A 30 per cent. grant reduction in its European operations and reductions in its physical overseas network to reflect the move to web-based service provision;
	Further rollout and exploitation of the global System Analysis and Programme Development finance and business system. This is widely used by companies to track their finances and organise their business systems including concentrating support services into regional or global support centres;
	An extensive review and re-structuring of support services (human resources, information technology, finance and facilities management) organisation-wide. This will involve post reductions, process improvement and use of global centres/outsourcing; and
	A reduction in capital works on its estates.
	The British Council is on track to meet these efficiency savings.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) special advisers and  (b) officials of his Department accompanied him to Glasgow for the Cabinet meeting on 16 April 2009.

Gillian Merron: No Special Advisers or Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials accompanied my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009. FCO officials did accompany the Foreign Secretary to stakeholder engagement events before and after the Cabinet meeting. These events had been scheduled for an earlier date but were rearranged to coincide with the Cabinet meeting in order to reduce costs.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what car journeys he undertook in attending the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended a number of official engagements in Glasgow on 16 April 2009. He travelled by official car throughout the day, including to the Cabinet meeting.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much expenditure was incurred by his Department in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Gillian Merron: A cost of £234.40 was incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure on  (a) travel,  (b) accommodation and  (c) food (i) he and (ii) officials in his Department incurred in connection with the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Gillian Merron: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials did not attend the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009. A total of £234.40 was spent on travel for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. No expenditure was incurred on accommodation or food. While in Glasgow, the Foreign Secretary attended a number of stakeholder engagement events at which he was accompanied by FCO officials. These events had been scheduled for an earlier date but were rearranged to coincide with the Cabinet meeting in order to reduce costs.

Conflict Prevention

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1311W, on conflict prevention, how much of the increase of £152.7 million in the UK's assessed peacekeeping costs for 2009-10 is to be spent  (a) in each country and  (b) on each mission; and what the reasons are for the increase.

David Miliband: We have earmarked £456 million for assessed costs in 2009-10. This remains a projection as, in particular, UN peacekeeping costs are still to be negotiated by the UN General Assembly for 2009-10, and future UN peacekeeping activity remains subject to decisions by the UN Security Council. We cannot provide an accurate figure for the additional costs broken down by mission until the budgets for each of the missions are agreed and payments made.
	The UN publishes budget proposals for each mission on its official document system on the UN website. These can be accessed by searching for the relevant mission at:
	http://documents.un.org/welcome.asp?language=E
	We expect UN Fifth Committee negotiations to be completed by early to mid June 2009.

Departmental Billing

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its agencies have paid the following amounts in interest to suppliers in the last three years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 486.64 
			 2007-08 1,882.60 
			 2008-09 No payments 
		
	
	The FCO is committed to paying all of its suppliers as quickly as possible following receipt of a valid invoice.

Departmental Finance

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to page 131 of the 2009 Budget Red Book, what  (a) improvement in procurement and  (b) reductions in the cost of goods and services there will be to achieve the proposed £12.5 million of efficiency during the 2007 comprehensive spending review period; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The improved procurement project is generating value for money savings from reductions in the costs of goods and services purchased by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) during the Comprehensive Spending Review period. The savings are achieved through better management of our expenditure by utilising the following techniques:
	Collaboration with other Government Departments (OGDs) and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Buying Solutions
	Mandatory use of corporate FCO contracts to achieve better value for money
	Benchmarking
	Better market analysis and a more strategic approach to procurement overseas
	Benefits will be realised in the main through utilising OGD and OGC contracts and re-tendering processes for major contracts and commodities which assess value for money and efficiency as part of the process. This is based on a number of factors including unit prices and balancing quality measures to ensure that service levels are maintained or improved. In addition costs savings will be realised through improvements in the on-going contract management.

Departmental Stationery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on the purchase of  (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and  (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Service: Allowances

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the elements of the Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance are.

Gillian Merron: The elements are Mobility, Hardship, Representation and Spouse Compensation.
	The Mobility element is paid to all Diplomatic Service (DS) staff serving overseas at Grade C4 (HEO) and above. Home Civil Service staff at grade C4 and above receive Mobility at half the Diplomatic Service rate. It compensates staff for the additional costs incurred as a result of their obligation to serve wherever in the world and whenever required (e.g. the inability to buy/sell property when conditions are favourable, the need to sell cars before normal replacement cycles and maintaining contact with family and friends).
	The Hardship element is paid to all staff at difficult, hazardous or isolated Posts to compensate them for the additional costs of maintaining a UK quality of life in those conditions (e.g. additional breaks from the country, security, the need for specialist four wheel drive vehicles and importing books/DVDs).
	The Representation element is paid to all staff in representational grades for the indirect costs of entertaining/networking such as depreciation in clothing, household goods and official use of private vehicle.
	Spouse Compensation is paid to Diplomatic Service staff, whose spouse/registered partner has spent at least three years accompanying them overseas. It is to compensate the spouse/partner who, if they had not been following and supporting their partner overseas, would have been working and contributing towards a state and/or private pension in the UK.

Eastern Europe

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on Eastern Europe of the outcomes of the recent Eastern Partnership summit; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended the launch summit of the Eastern Partnership in Prague on 7 May 2009 where we strongly supported this EU initiative to step up our relations with our six Eastern European neighbours—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
	The Eastern Partnership will add value in a number of ways, including:
	enabling the EU to deepen relations with each of the partners through New Association Agreements and deep free trade agreements when partners are ready;
	setting up a framework for multilateral discussion and cooperation between member states and partners on issues including democracy, economic reform, energy and people-to-people contacts.
	The UK will continue to support the development of the Eastern Partnership. We believe that a strong partnership with the region is in the interests of the UK and can help us work effectively together to strengthen democracy, reduce the risk of conflict, and create the conditions for sustainable economic growth.

European Court of Human Rights

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions an interpretation of the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 by UK courts has been challenged at the European Court of Human Rights; and what the cost to the public purse was in each case.

Caroline Flint: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not compile statistics of the kind sought. Given the requirement for applicants to exhaust their domestic remedies before taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights, many cases against the United Kingdom in that Court since the entry into force of the Human Rights Act have involved issues that have already been considered in the context of the Act. Where the application has resulted in an admissibility decision or judgment by the Court, these are available publicly on the Court's website at
	http://www.echr.coe.int

India: Terrorism

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to hold discussions with the Indian Government on bilateral counter-terrorism activity.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 7 May 2009
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited India on 13-15 January 2009. During his visit he met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. They discussed the challenge which both the UK and India face from international terrorism, and the importance of strengthening bilateral counter terrorism cooperation.
	We expect to further strengthen this co-operation through the second meeting of the Indo-UK Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, due at the end of 2009. This group is the result of a Prime Ministerial agreement at the UK-India Summit held in January 2008.

Iran: Nuclear Power

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were last able to visit the Iranian nuclear sites at  (a) Arak,  (b) Natanz and  (c) Bushehr; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board Report of 19 February 2009, agency inspectors last visited the Heavy Water Research Reactor at Arak in August 2008 and the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in December 2008.
	The same report says that at Natanz the agency conducted a physical inventory verification at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant on 29 September 2008 and at the Fuel Enrichment Plant on 24-26 November 2008. It also states that since March 2007 the IAEA has carried out 21 unannounced inspections at the latter plant.

Iran: Nuclear Power

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 4-7WS, on General Affairs and External Relations Council, what reports he has received on  (a) the recent contacts between High Representative Solana and Iranian representatives and  (b) the outcome of those discussions.

David Miliband: Following the meeting of officials from the E3+3 on 8 April, High Representative Solana spoke to Saeed Jalili, Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator, regarding further talks with the E3+3.
	In a statement on 22 April 2009, Iran announced its "readiness for talks and constructive interaction." No date has yet been fixed and we urge Iran to act in this window of opportunity to rebuild the confidence of the international community and enter into negotiations with the E3+3.

Iraq

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the mission statement for employees of his Department in Iraq is.

Bill Rammell: Employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) working in Iraq and in the Iraq Group in London work to the objective laid out in the FCO's middle east and North Africa Directorate's business plan:
	"to support the continued development of a strong, stable, non-hostile and broadly democratic Iraq, which respects international law, denies terrorists a safe haven and contributes to stable world energy markets; and to deliver transition to a normalised, substantive bilateral relationship which advances UK commercial, consular, migration, energy and CT (Counter Terrorism) interests."

Kenya: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions representatives of  (a) the EU and the European Union-led naval force and  (b) international humanitarian agencies have requested access to individuals transferred to custody in Kenya in connection with alleged acts of piracy; and whether each such request was granted.

David Miliband: The German ambassador to Kenya recently visited the suspected pirates who Germany had previously transferred (on 10 March 2009 and 8 April 2009) into Kenyan custody. We are not aware of any other EU representatives or any international humanitarian agency having requested access to suspected pirates who have been transferred to Kenyan custody.

Kenya: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1335W, on Kenya, what undertakings the UK has made under the December 2008 Memorandum of Understanding with Kenya on the transfer of persons suspected of committing acts of piracy.

David Miliband: The Kenyan Government do not wish to make public the detail of the December 2008 Memorandum of Understanding with the UK on the transfer of persons suspected of having committed acts of piracy. We can say in broad terms that the UK has undertaken to co-operate with the Kenyan authorities in relation to the preparation and presentation of evidence to assist the Kenyan authorities to prosecute any pirates handed over to them.

Russia: BBC External Services

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on threats made against Oleg Gordievsky on the BBC Russia online forum.

Caroline Flint: We have received no representations about this matter. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has robust independent processes for dealing with complaints, and we understand that a complaint about this matter was made in 2007, and subsequently dealt with. However, this is an editorial matter for the BBC.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of Somali territory controlled by al-Shabaab and allied insurgent factions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Given the security situation in Somalia, the UK has no presence on the ground and so it is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the territorial controls of the various clans and groups in Somalia. However, we are aware that the Al-Shabaab group has footholds in several areas across Somalia, including strategic southern towns and ports. We continue to work with the Somali Government to eradicate the threat insurgents groups pose to peace and reconciliation efforts in Somalia.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to paragraph 7 of the report of the UN Secretary-General on Somalia of 16 April 2009, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of foreign fighters to have entered Somalia in support of the al-Shabaab group.

David Miliband: We do not have the capacity on the ground to monitor the flow of people in or out of Somalia in terms of either numbers or purpose.
	However, the UK is aware of the threat posed by the Al-Shabaab group to the peace and reconciliation efforts of the new Transitional Federal Government (TFG). We believe that the current inclusive approach of the TFG is the best way to isolate the more extreme individuals and prevent the Al-Shabaab group from undermining the process.

Somalia: Fisheries

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of  (a) illegal fishing and  (b) depositing of toxic waste by international vessels in Somali waters; and what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on these matters.

David Miliband: We are aware of reports of illegal fishing, although we have been unable to substantiate them. The current security situation in the region does not permit access to allow an assessment of these allegations or those of toxic waste dumping.
	At the April meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Somali piracy was discussed, but this did not include discussion of either illegal fishing or toxic waste dumping. Somali fishery issues were discussed during the last meeting of the EU Agricultural and Fisheries Ministers on 23 April 2009.

Somalia: Fisheries

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the International Contact Group for Piracy off the coast of Somalia has taken steps to investigate allegations of illegal fishing in Somali waters; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The purpose of the International Contact Group for Piracy off the coast of Somalia is to create a co-ordinated international approach to Somali piracy. Illegal fishing has been raised as an issue during Contact Group meetings, and is recognised as a factor which needs to be taken into account when constructing a forward strategy for Somalia.

Somalia: Fisheries

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has commissioned research into the potential effects of illegal fishing in Somali waters on levels of piracy in that region.

David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not commissioned any research to assess the potential effects of illegal fishing in Somali waters on levels of piracy in the region. We are aware that illegal fishing is a concern to many Somalis and that this has also been highlighted as a contributory factor to why some Somalis choose to become involved in piracy. However, the causes of piracy in Somalia are complex. It should be noted that pirates are not specifically targeting fishing vessels.
	The Government continue to work with the international community to tackle the root causes of piracy through the provision of humanitarian and development assistance and support for alternative livelihoods.

Somalia: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the feasibility of  (a) tracking and  (b) freezing the assets of pirates operating in Somali waters; and what the Government's policy on such steps is.

David Miliband: Due to the security and governance situation in Somalia, the Somali authorities do not have the capacity to either track or freeze the assets of pirates operating in Somali waters within Somalia.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and HM Treasury are working with international institutions and partners to analyse the possible financial measures that could be used to combat the problem. A key part of this work consists of identifying the points at which the proceeds of acts of piracy are laundered through the international financial system, and what the most appropriate steps are for tackling this. Given that Somalia lacks a well-established banking system, this is likely to require the co-operation of regional partners.
	Once the new Transitional Federal Government has further established itself in Somalia, the UK and international partners will work with them to address this issue along with wider counter piracy action.

Somalia: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government is providing to UN efforts to build national security institutions in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The international community pledged over US $53 million to the UN Trust Fund in support of Somali security institutions at the UN-organised pledging conference in Brussels on 23 April 2009. We have indicated our desire to work with the Somali authorities, the UN and the African Union Mission in Somalia to develop an accountable security sector, subject to a coherent plan being in place. We have offered to help develop such a plan, including through technical assistance to support oversight bodies.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between north and south Sudan in 2005.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had recent discussions with his Egyptian counterpart on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed these issues with the Egyptian ambassador in London on 28 April 2009. There are ongoing discussions at official level on the CPA and other matters relating to Sudan.

Sudan: USA

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US President's Special Envoy for Sudan.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not yet met the new US Special Envoy for Sudan. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch Brown, has talked with the US Special Envoy by telephone, and the UK Special Representative for Sudan has had detailed discussions with General Gration on several occasions.

Syrian Arab Republic: Human Rights

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Syria; and what discussions the UK and Syria have had on the issue.

David Miliband: I remain concerned about the human rights situation in Syria. As detailed in the 2008 Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2008 Annual Human Rights report, the UK is particularly concerned with the deterioration in the situation for opposition politicians and Syria's Kurdish population, and the restrictions of basic civil rights and freedom of the media.
	I raised these concerns with President Assad during my November 2008 visit to Syria. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Bill Rammell) raised human rights with Foreign Minister Muallem during his April 2009 visit to Syria.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments: Imports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 268W, what recent representations she has received on breeding of long-tailed macaques for research in Cambodia, with particular reference to the Vanny Bio-Research Centre.

Shahid Malik: We received representations from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) on the 24 November 2008 and responded on 16 December 2008. We have received no requests from establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to acquire animals from the centre or to accept it as a source of non-human primates. Should we receive such a request, we would need to be satisfied that conditions at the centre were acceptable before giving approval.

Animal Experiments: Imports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on breeding of long-tailed macaques in Indonesia for animal research in the UK; and what her Department's policy on the matter is.

Shahid Malik: We have received no formal representations relating to the breeding of long-tailed macaques in Indonesia for animal research in the UK. The acquisition of non-human primates from overseas sources for use in procedures authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 requires prior approval which is only given if the conditions at the breeding centre are acceptable to the Home Office at the time. Any request to acquire non-human primates from Indonesia would have to satisfy these requirements.

Animal Experiments: Imports

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has  (a) approved and  (b) inspected primate supply centres in Indonesia as overseas primate supply and breeding facilities to export primates to the UK for the purposes of scientific research in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: No.

Borders: Personal Records

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on airlines of having to implement the delayed e-Borders requirements during the start of peak travel season.

Jacqui Smith: Progress on the e-Borders Programme over the last few months has been very positive with the resolution of some complex technical issues. The ramp up to 100 million passenger movements commenced in mid-March and we will confirm the achievement of the 100 million by the end of June. This important capacity increase has been managed in close collaboration with the aviation industry.
	e-Borders continues to work with the industry to ensure that the burden and pressures are minimised. The roll out programme is, by agreement, country based. This permits flexibility in meeting carrier calls for relief on implementation. The transitional arrangements created by the programme to alleviate carrier implementation issues also relieve them from some critical system changes during this busy period.

Criminal Investigation: Costs

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average total  (a) direct staff cost,  (b) operational support cost,  (c) business support cost and  (d) cost excluding sustaining overheads under activity-based costing analysis was for a police investigation relating to (i) a violence against the person offence, (ii) a sexual offence, (iii) robbery, (iv) deception or fraud, (v) a drugs offence, (vi) a criminal damage offence and (vii) other crimes in 2007-08.

Alan Campbell: The data requested are given in the table.
	
		
			  Average cost per incident, by incident type 
			  £ 
			   Direct staff costs  Operational support costs  Business support costs  Total cost excluding overheads 
			 Violence against the person—S20 and more serious 9,376.64 5,140.30 3,730.44 18,247.39 
			 Violence against the person—S47 and less serious 216.43 151.19 93.75 461.37 
			 Sexual offences 2,396.34 1,608.59 1,007.81 5,012.74 
			 Robbery 1,198.15 824.08 518.36 2,540.59 
			 Deception/fraud 508.23 302.35 229.34 1,039.92 
			 Drugs offences 722.77 461.04 319.02 1,502.84 
			 Criminal damage 103.65 74.91 45.12 223.68 
			 Crimes other than those specified above 301.57 233.85 137.49 672.92 
			 Crimes other than those specified in ABC data collection(1) 3,670.65 2,837.99 1,620.70 8,129.34 
			  
			 Total crime 359.00 250.25 157.32 766.57 
			 (1) Crimes specified in ABC data collection are: violence against the person, sexual offences, burglary (dwelling), burglary (commercial and other), robbery, theft of or from a motor vehicle, theft of or from a motor vehicle, deception/fraud, theft (other), drugs offences, criminal damage.

Criminal Records: Slovakia

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements her Department has with the authorities in the Slovak Republic to obtain checks on the criminal records of Slovakian nationals  (a) entering and  (b) resident in the UK.

Shahid Malik: The United Kingdom is able to obtain checks, through the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records, of previous convictions of Slovakian nationals subject to criminal proceedings in the UK using the terms of Council Decision 2005/876/JHA. If police officers in the United Kingdom are investigating a Slovakian national they can also make a request through Interpol channels for information held on the individual, including criminal record information.
	There is no formal arrangement for sharing criminal records of people seeking entry to the UK. Under the Free Movement Directive 2004/38 EC nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) can move freely within member states; they do not require leave to enter or leave to remain.
	Slovakian nationals will come to the attention of UKBA officials (and may be refused entry at port) if there was an outstanding European arrest warrant for them or if they had been deported from the UK or if they had been on the UK watch list because they constitute a threat to public security.

Cybercrime: EU Action

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with her European Union counterparts on the European Convention on Cybercrime; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Government are committed to ratifying the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention. We are currently working through the formal UK process of ratification, during which we will lay the required explanatory memorandum before Parliament to obtain approval for ratification. If Parliament agrees to ratification, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will then commence the formal ratification process with the Council of Europe.
	We hope to complete the parliamentary process by the summer recess and the Council of Europe process within two months of that.
	We are pleased that all of the EU member states have signed the convention and that a number have completed ratification. We work closely with our EU partners to tackle cybercrime, at ministerial, official and law enforcement levels.

Departmental Sick Leave

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many staff in her Department and its agencies took long-term sick leave in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the  (a) total and  (b) average number of days of sick leave taken by employees in her Department and its agencies was in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: Sick absence data for 2003 though to the end of March 2007 are available from sick absence reports published on the Cabinet Office website. The reports can be found on the following Cabinet Office webpage:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/who/statistics/sickness.aspx
	Sick absence data prior to 2002 are not available without incurring a disproportionate cost owing to several changes of HR databases in use over the last 12 years which would necessitate an investigation of individual staff records.
	Table 1 provides the number of staff who took long-term sick leave in 2008-09. Data on long-term sickness are not held for 2007-08 and cannot be gathered without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of staff who took long-term sick absence 2008-09 
			   Number 
			 Headquarters 126 
			 UK Border Agency 244 
			 Identity and Passport Service 169 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 63 
		
	
	Table 2 provides the total number of working days lost (WDL) and the average working days lost rolling year (AWDL RY) for the period from 2007 to 2009.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			   WDL  AWDL RY  WDL (FTE)  AWDL RY 
			 Headquarters 20,685 6.6 15,023 5.50 
			 Identity and Passport Service 43,917 11.7 36,831 9.59 
			 UK Border Agency 194,517 11.2 167,211 9.70 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 5,460 12.3 5,548 11.31 
			  Notes: 1. 2007-08 data have been taken from sickness data produced for the permanent secretary management group. 2. 2008-09 data have been answered using DataView, the single source for all Home Office HR data. DataView uses data extracted as soon as possible after the last day of the calendar month from the Home Office's four employee records systems: Adelphi for headquarters and the UK Border Agency (UKBA); Snowdrop for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS); IRIS for the Criminal Records Bureau; and ePayFact for pay and pensions purposes. UKVisas (previously FCO) and HMRC Detection staff who have transferred to UKBA will be added during 2009-10 as part of an ongoing improvement programme.  Source: The March 2009 extract has been used to answer this parliamentary question.

Immigration

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in each of the last 15 years.

Jacqui Smith: Statistics on grants of settlement (indefinite leave to enter or remain) are provided in the table.
	Data for 1994 to 2007 are from Table 5.7 published in the Home Office publication "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2007". This publication may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1008.pdf
	The 2008 edition is due to be published in August this year.
	The provisional grants of settlement total for 2008 is from Table 12 published in the "Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom—Fourth Quarter 2008" also available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq408.pdf
	
		
			  Grants of settlement—Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals, 1994-2008( 1,2) —United Kingdom 
			  Number of persons 
			On removal of time limit( 3)  Settlement on arrival( 4) 
			  Year of grant  Total grants  Commonwealth citizens( 5)  Foreign nationals  Commonwealth citizens( 5)  Foreign nationals 
			 1994 55,010 31,990 20,410 1,790 810 
			 1995 55,480 33,070 20,090 1,680 640 
			 1996 61,730 33,960 25,650 1,550 570 
			 1997 58,725 29,380 26,995 1,685 670 
			 1998 69,790 38,795 28,100 1,705 1,190 
			 1999 97,115 48,300 41,975 2,465 4,375 
			 2000 125,945 63,000 54,750 2,875 5,315 
			 2001 108,410 53,510 42,950 5,880 6,070 
			 2002 115,965 58,600 48,800 4,440 4,120 
			 2003 139,280 78,300 57,055 1,965 1,960 
			 2004(6) 139,210 60,855 60,745 4,580 13,030 
			 2005(6) 179,120 73,625 89,535 5,020 10,935 
			 2006(6) 134,445 55,920 67,105 3,545 7,875 
			 2007(7) 124,855 57,625 59,085 2,175 5,970 
			 2008(7) 145,965 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not currently available. (1) Excludes EEA nationals from 1999, Switzerland from 1 June 2002, A10 Accession States from 1 May 2004 and A2 Accession States from 1 January 2007. (2) Data from 2003 exclude dependants of EEA and Swiss nationals in confirmed relationships granted permanent residence. (3) Indefinite leave to remain. (4) Indefinite leave to enter. (5) Figures for settlement of Pakistani nationals have been included in Commonwealth throughout the period covered. Zimbabwe have been included in foreign from 2004 only. (6) Revised. (7) Provisional.  Note: Figures relating to 1996 and earlier have been rounded to the nearest 10. Figures from 1997 are rounded to the nearest 5 so may not sum to the totals.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 19 March 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Sandra Vuso.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 12 May 2009.

Offences Against Children: Internet

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre work on tasks related to e-crime.

Jacqui Smith: As of 30 April 2009, and including permanent, seconded, individuals 'on loan' and temporary personnel, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has a total of 105 staff who work to tackle the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. Some of this work will involve abuse and exploitation where the use of technology may be a factor and other areas will focus on offender management, behavioural analysis, financial investigation and child trafficking.

Parliament Square: Access

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission research on the effects on the public of the closure of Parliament Square and surrounding roads by demonstrators on 20 April 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The decision to close roads around Parliament Square is an operational one for the police. Clearly any demonstration has the ability to cause disruption and inconvenience to those going about their lawful business and police tactics will be to minimise such disruption while facilitating the rights of protestors to protest lawfully.

Police

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by her Department's programme on collaborative working between police forces to deliver protective services in regions identified as high priority; and what improvements she expects will have been made in such services in these regions by the end of 2009.

Jacqui Smith: The Protective Services and Collaboration Programme led by the Home Office and involving all the key stakeholders in policing has seen a significant increase in collaborative working over recent years.
	Her Majesty's Inspectorate's recent review into protective services planning found that the majority of forces and authorities that have high need protective services now have good plans in place that, once delivered, will make the necessary improvements.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complaints were recorded against the police in  (a) Essex and  (b) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; what the rate of complaints per 1,000 of population was in each such year; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been upheld in each year since its inception; what  (a) response was made and  (b) steps were taken by the relevant police force to implement the recommendations; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many complaints from  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Essex and  (c) Southend were (i) made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), (ii) upheld and (iii) investigated by (A) the IPCC, (B) another police force and (C) another independent organisation since the IPCC's inception;
	(4)  how much has been spent on  (a) office accommodation,  (b) staff costs,  (c) staff travel and subsistence and  (d) staff bonuses at the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  how many staff employed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been made redundant in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold the information requested as these are matters primarily for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in fulfilling its statutory functions under the Police Reform Act 2002. The IPCC will respond to you direct. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the Library.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what written  (a) advice and  (b) guidance is provided by (i) her Department and (ii) the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to members of the public wishing to make a complaint about the police; if she will place in the Library a copy of each such document; what recent representations she has received from (A) members of the public, (B) hon. Members and (C) police forces about the adequacy of the powers of the IPCC to investigate the police; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The IPCC publishes a wide range of information to inform the public about its work and to support them through the complaints process. This includes web based information and a number of information leaflets covering different areas of the process including making a complaint and the rights of appeal. These leaflets are produced in a variety of languages and are available in hard copy through a number of outlets including Citizens Advice Bureau offices and police stations. They are also available from the IPCC on request.
	The IPCC has a team of staff who deal with calls, letters and emails from members of the public requesting information about the police complaints system and how to make a complaint.
	I regularly receive a number of representations from different sources on various issues relating to the IPCC. The IPCC continues to carry out an important role. The IPCC works with its stakeholders to continue to improve the police complaints system, for example, by taking forward work on its stock-take of the system following public consultation on a number of proposals for changes to the system.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Independent Police Complaints Commission has received since 2005; how many such requests were  (a) agreed to and  (b) refused in each of those years; how many refusals were subject to appeal to the Information Commissioner in each of those years; how many such appeals were successful; if she will place in the Library copies of the material subsequently provided in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Since 2005 the Home Office has received the following Freedom of Information Act requests relating to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
	
		
			  Freedom of Information Act requests 
			   Number 
			 Total number of requests received until 1 May 2008 19 
			 Total number of cases of where information released 2 
			 Total number of case where information was not released 16 
			 Total appealed to the Information Commissioner 0 
			 Cases currently on-going 1 
		
	
	For those cases where information was not released, in nine cases collating the information would have exceeded the cost limit; in three cases the information was already in the public domain; and in six cases the information was not held.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has made to her Department on matters which it considers should be drawn to her attention by reason of their gravity or of other exceptional circumstances; how many were laid before Parliament; what discussions she has had with the IPCC on such matters since June 2007; if she will place in the Library copies of each such report produced by the IPCC which has not been previously laid before Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has made one report to the Home Office by reason of the gravity or of other exceptional circumstances. That report ('Police Road Traffic Incidents: a study of cases involving serious and fatal injuries') was published and laid before Parliament on 18 September 2007.
	Following the report, ACPO set up a working party to produce new guidance for the police on the management of police pursuits. The IPCC was involved in this work and in subsequent discussions on how to take matters forward. We are currently working with Association of Chief Police Officer and the National Policing Improvement Agency on how best to ensure general compliance with the best practice set out in the guidance.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have awarded compensation to complainants whose complaints have been upheld by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each year since its creation; how much was awarded in each case; what guidance her Department has issued on the level of compensation to be awarded; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information sought is not collected or held by the Home Office.
	Under section 88 of the Police Act 1996, any decision to award compensation following inappropriate police conduct, including following a complaint upheld by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, is a matter for the chief officer of the force.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legislation currently regulates the Independent Police Complaints Commission; what amendments have been made to such legislation since its entry into force; what recent representations she has received on the operation of this legislation; which  (a) statutory instruments, (b) departmental circulars,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other documents she (i) has issued since February 2008 and (ii) plans to issue in the next two years consequent on the provisions of this legislation; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was established under the Police Reform Act 2002, with a remit covering complaints and conduct matters involving persons serving with the police service in England and Wales. The IPCC came into operation on 1 April 2004.
	IPCC (Investigatory Powers) Order 2004 S.I. 2004/815 modifies, in relation to the functions of the IPCC:
	Part 3 of the Police Act 1997 (authorisations to interfere with property); and
	Parts 2 (intrusive surveillance) and 4 (Tribunal) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
	Schedule 12 to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 amended the Police Reform Act 2002, extending the IPCC's remit to cover death and serious injury matters, and to cover complaints against the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.
	The Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005 and the Revenue and Customs (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3311) as amended by S.I. 2006/1748 made under the 2005 Act extended the IPCC's remit in relation to the commissioners and officers of HM Revenue and Customs.
	The Police and Justice Act 2006 extended the IPCC's jurisdiction to cover specified enforcement functions of immigration officers.
	A statutory order was laid before Parliament on 5 June 2007 for the purpose of applying the Official Secrets Act to IPCC commissioners and staff.
	The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 made further amendments to the Police Reform Act 2002 aimed at simplifying and modernising the police conduct system.
	As part of these reforms to the police disciplinary system in which the IPCC plays a part, the following statutory instruments were laid before Parliament and came into force on 1 December 2008:
	The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2864);
	The Police (Performance) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2862);
	The Police Appeals Tribunals Rules 2008 (S.I. 2008/2863);
	The Police (Complaints and Misconduct) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I.2008/2866)
	The Police (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2865).;
	Home Office Circular 025/2008 was issued to inform all Chief Officers of these new regulations. Guidance was also produced entitled 'Police Officer Misconduct, Unsatisfactory Performance and Attendance Management procedures' explaining the new system.
	The IPCC has recently conducted a stock take of its operation and we are working with the IPCC to consider what further guidance, circulars or legislation may be required as a result.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions  (a) evidence,  (b) findings and  (c) recommendations from investigations from the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been included in police performance and conduct systems; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Vernon Coaker: The IPCC's Learning the Lessons Committee, which includes representatives from the Home Office, Association of Police Authorities, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the National Police Improvement Agency, issues regular bulletins covering lessons learnt from IPCC investigations which are fed into the police service to improve its policies and practices. The IPCC is also developing a performance framework to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the police complaints system.
	A copy of the hon. Member's question has been sent to the IPCC and they will also respond to the hon. Member directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the Library.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on  (a) its target for conclusion of a complaint against the police from the date of registration of the complaint and  (b) the average time taken per case; what representations she has received from (i) hon. Members and (ii) members of the public about the time taken by the IPCC to investigate a complaint against a police force; what response she gave; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is working with the IPCC, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities to help it develop a performance framework to help assess and improve the performance of the complaints system as a whole, including the work of the IPCC.
	The IPCC monitors timescales of the complaints which it carries out, manages or supervises but there is no single overarching target for concluding consideration of a complaint against the police as the time will vary depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department at each pay band have responsibility for the  (a) formulation and  (b) implementation of policy on the Independent Police Complaints Commission; what other posts in her Department each such official has held; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: In line with standard non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsorship arrangements, the IPCC sponsor team is led by a member of the senior civil service (SCS) who is supported by a team of appropriate grades with suitable skills and experience.

Police: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to establish an appeal mechanism for circumstances in which the Independent Police Complaints Commission decides not to uphold a complaint made against a police force; what recent representations she has received about this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Complainants have a right of appeal following an IPCC supervised investigation. While there is no right of appeal following an IPCC managed or independent investigation, any decisions not to uphold a complaint following a managed or independent investigation can be challenged through the courts by seeking a judicial review.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions there have been between representatives of her Department and the Chief Constable of Essex Police on the amount spent by  (a) Essex and  (b) Southend Police on (i) own force investigations, (ii) supervised investigations, (iii) managed investigations and (iv) independent investigations in each of the last three years; what representations she has received since December 2008 on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Any visits that are made by Home Office representatives are not recorded centrally, nor have I received any representations on this issue from Essex police since December 2008. The amount Essex police spent on investigations in each of the last three years is a matter for Essex police authority and the chief officer of Essex police.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with Essex Police Authority on  (a) overspend and  (b) underspend by the Authority since July 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: No Home Office Minister has held any discussions with Essex police authority on overspends and underspends since July 2008.
	Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the chief constable of Essex and the police authority. It is a legal requirement for the police authority to set balanced budgets taking into account any use of reserves.

Police: Standards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to refocus the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on its extended role in  (a) supporting forces to respond to inspections and  (b) assisting forces to improve their performance; and what the timetable for full transition of the NPIA to this new role is.

Jacqui Smith: The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is putting in place a new team that will, by June 2009, be able to provide assistance to police forces and authorities that wish to have the agency's help to improve their performance. This unit will comprise of five elements: a core team, a centre of excellence in performance management, peer teams, existing NPIA expertise and a knowledge resource.

Terrorism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will hold discussions with representatives of police forces on the application of section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to persons arranging or managing a meeting to be addressed via a video link by a person who belongs or professes to belong to an organisation listed in the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: There are no current plans for discussions with police forces on this subject.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the British military is in effecting reconciliation in Afghanistan.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 May 2009
	 As the Prime Minister reiterated in his statement of 29 April 2009,  Official Report, column 871, a key element of UK strategy in Afghanistan is to support the Afghan Government as they take forward the process of reconciliation.
	International forces are in Afghanistan to create the security environment required for a successful Afghan-led political settlement.

Aircraft Carriers

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the public purse  (a) in total and  (b) in interest incurred of the period between the originally announced completion date for the Royal Navy aircraft carriers and the most recent estimate of the completion date.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 11 May 2009,  Official Report, column 605W.

Aircraft Carriers

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where refits of the new aircraft carriers will be carried out.

Quentin Davies: The in-service support solution for the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers has yet to reach its main investment decision point, and so no decision has yet been taken on this issue.

Armed Forces: Empty Property

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of  (a) service family accommodation and  (b) single living accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas are void properties.

Kevan Jones: The table provided shows the number of void service family accommodation properties held in the UK and Overseas as at 1 May 2009:
	
		
			Total void SFA 
			  Location  Total number of SFA  Number  Percentage 
			 UK 49,884 8,390 17 
			 Overseas and Europe 15,430 3,062 20 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide the number of void single living accommodation properties as the information is currently being verified.
	Service accommodation is held void for various reasons such as it is awaiting moves of service personnel, improvement or modernisation, demolition or disposal. The Department is making vigorous efforts to reduce the percentage of voids, but there will always need to be a management margin to allow properties to be available for eligible service personnel when required.

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the defects at the service family accommodation at Jubilee Buildings, Queens Terrace, St. John's Wood; what his Department's remedial plan for this accommodation is; and what the  (a) timetable and  (b) budget is for its repair.

Kevan Jones: As might be expected after decades of underinvestment there are many issues arising from these properties and the accommodation is not of the high standard to which we aspire.
	Although essential maintenance and repairs continue to be carried out and issues raised by occupants are addressed, these properties are not required beyond 2011 and accordingly no major modernisation or improvement works are planned.
	I have also asked for an update on these buildings and will write following this.

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons permission for hon. Members to visit service family accommodation at Jubilee Buildings, Queen's Terrace, St. John's Wood has been refused.

Kevan Jones: I wrote to the hon. Member on 25 April 2009 stating that there were some issues with the accommodation and that I would write to him again shortly with details of these and our steps to resolve them.

Armed Forces: Housing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints Modern Housing Solutions received about accommodation maintenance in each of the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: The number of complaints received by Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) in each of the last 12 months is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Total number of complaints received  Number of complaints regarding maintenance( 1) 
			 May 2008 622 397 
			 June 2008 626 379 
			 July 2008 656 458 
			 August 2008 625 398 
			 September 2008 727 479 
			 October 2008 618 509 
			 November 2008 674 407 
			 December 2008 684 390 
			 January 2009 909 534 
			 February 2009 788 465 
			 March 2009 937 497 
			 April 2009 1,049 532 
			 (1) Total complaints less those about missed appointments. 
		
	
	The figures have been broken down to separate cases where MHS have paid compensation to service family accommodation (SFA) occupants for missed appointments.
	MHS are responsible for the maintenance and repair of approximately 45,000 SFA properties in England and Wales and carry out over 200,000 response repair jobs each year.

Armed Forces: Housing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of units of  (a) single living accommodation and  (b) service family accommodation at each location in England there are at each grade.

Kevan Jones: The table provided as follows shows, as of December 2008, the number and percentage of single living accommodation (SLA) broken down by grade. Grade is an assessment of the size, amenities and condition of the SLA.
	
		
			   Grade 1  Grade 2  Grade 3  Grade 4  
			  Region  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Grand total 
			 East Midlands 1,488 25 809 14 265 4 3,464 57 6,026 
			 East of England 3,989 32 2,680 22 2,337 19 3,289 27 12,295 
			 London 129 3 1,147 29 654 16 2,066 52 3,996 
			 North East 417 16 159 6 1,423 55 611 23 2,610 
			 North West 101 8 417 32 737 56 57 4 1,312 
			 South East 7,221 19 4,813 12 4,239 11 22,382 58 38,655 
			 South West 8,764 30 3,164 11 4,230 14 13,449 45 29,607 
			 West Midlands 1,236 19 1,129 18 1,907 29 2,216 34 6,488 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,589 31 742 7 2,240 19 5,040 43 11,611 
			 Wales 427 15 489 17 76 3 1,805 65 2,797 
			 Scotland 2,443 33 1,527 21 2,096 28 1,335 18 7,401 
			 Northern Ireland 1,445 36 971 24 900 22 717 18 4,033 
			 Grand total 31,249 25 18,047 14 21,104 17 56,431 44 126,831 
		
	
	Further details on this breakdown are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of service family accommodation as the information is not held in the form requested and will take more time to collate and verify. I will therefore write to the hon. Member with the requested information.

Armed Forces: Housing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reported break-ins to service personnel accommodation there have been in each year since 2005.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of reported break-ins to service personnel accommodation reported in each year since 2005 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Incidents 
			 2005 1,143 
			 2006 1,074 
			 2007 1,017 
			 2008 923 
			 2009 (as at 11 May) 228

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were enrolled in a  (a) gap year commission and  (b) short service engagement in each year since 2000.

Bob Ainsworth: The short service commission is the normal first commission for those who become an officer in the armed forces and requires a minimum engagement of three years. Certain corps and regiments may have longer minimum engagements. It is a commission for those who do not wish to commit to a long career but would like to benefit from the high quality training and exceptional opportunities available to young officers. The gap year commission is open to people who have a firm place at a UK university for a first degree. It involves a year's commission in the Army, at the end of which, personnel can decide either to join the Army or go to university.
	The following tables show an intake by financial year of gap year commissions and short service commissions for each of the Services:
	
		
			  Intake to the Regular Naval Service 
			  Financial year  Gap year commission  Short service commission 
			 2000-01 — 50 
			 2001-02 — 60 
			 2002-03 — 10 
		
	
	
		
			  Intake to the Regular Army 
			  Financial year  Gap y ear  c ommission( 1)  Short  s ervice  c ommission 
			 2000-01 60 160 
			 2001-02 70 160 
			 2002-03 80 140 
			 2003-04 70 120 
			 2004-05 30 120 
			 2005-06 40 50 
			 2006-07 50 40 
			 (1) Gap year commissions are only utilised by the Army. 
		
	
	
		
			  Intake to the Regular Air Force 
			  Financial year  Gap year commission  Short service commission 
			 2000-01 — 160 
			 2001-02 — I5O 
			 2002-03 — 140 
			 2003-04 — 130 
			 2004-05 — 80 
			 2005-06 — 80 
		
	
	As shown in the tables, no information is available for more recent years as it is not held in a format that is easily extractible. As such, information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) recruitment target and  (b) recruitment level achieved for each pinch point trade for the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Navy and (iii) Royal Air Force was in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 March 2009,  Official Report, column 565W. The position remains the same and there is nothing further I can add.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the Battlemind programme; and what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing it for the UK armed forces.

Kevan Jones: There is extensive liaison at official level between UK and US colleagues on the Battlemind programme. Battlemind is a military skills training programme, developed in the US by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, to prepare service personnel for the demands and challenges of operational deployment, and to enable them to adjust successfully to the peacetime environment when they return home. A version of the programme, modified for the UK, is currently being trialled by the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health, King's College London (ACDMH). The results of this trial are due early 2010.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing psychometric testing for the armed forces in order  (a) to assess each serviceman or woman's vulnerability to psychological wounding from exposure to combat and  (b) to screen servicemen after combat operations for changes in their personality which may be attributed to psychological wounding.

Kevan Jones: Research undertaken at the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) has produced evidence which strongly suggests that such processes are ineffective and may indeed be counter-productive.
	Recent research is summarised in the KCMHR "Ten Year Report" published in 2006 by the University of London and covering a decade's worth of research concerning the health of UK service personnel and veterans. This explains that selecting out individuals who might be at increased risk of developing mental health difficulties prior to deployment is a flawed strategy because, whether one uses clinical interviews or questionnaire-based methods, it is impossible to distinguish reliably between those who will go on to experience psychological difficulties and those who will not.
	Furthermore there is evidence of a detrimental effect on those screened out, even though they may, in reality, be suitable for deployment.
	Similarly, although mental health screening after deployment is practised by other countries, the Department is not aware of any evidence which demonstrates that formal mental health interviews or the use of questionnaires on return from deployment are able to distinguish effectively between those who might benefit from further intervention and those who might not. The MOD does, however, strongly support the notion that the psychological welfare of troops is primarily a chain of command responsibility. We place great emphasis on ensuring that those in positions of command remain vigilant for signs of any mental health difficulties and support these aims through our post-operational stress management protocols which include, but are not limited to, the use of decompression and of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM).
	The MOD also funds six mental health pilot projects for veterans, has dedicated psychiatric nurses in Afghanistan and funds the Medical Assessment Programme at St. Thomas Hospital.

Armed Forces: Parachuting

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers in 3 Para are not  (a) authorised,  (b) trained and  (c) certified to parachute.

Bob Ainsworth: 500 personnel out of 594 posts in 3 PARA are trained as paratroopers. Of those, 327 personnel are currently certified to parachute.

Armed Forces: Swine Flu

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparations his Department is making to ensure that military bases  (a) in the UK and  (b) overseas are stocked with sufficient (i) antivirals, (ii) facemasks and (iii) gloves in relation to the swine influenza outbreak.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 617-618W, to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison).

Armed Forces: Telecommunications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Falcon programme from his Department's  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL was on 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007, (viii) 2008 and (ix) 2009.

Quentin Davies: Prior to 31 March 2007 the information is not held in the format requested and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2009 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1144W.

Armed Forces: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much ammunition was allocated on all courses involved in the training of artillery personnel and forward observation officers to call in fire in each year since 2003; and what the cost of this ammunition was.

Bob Ainsworth: The quantity and cost of the 105 mm and 155 mm artillery ammunition allocated and fired at the Royal School of Artillery, Larkhill in support of phase 3 individual training is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Quantity  Cost (£ million) 
			 2003-04 20,541 16.5 
			 2004-05 19,268 16.5 
			 2005-06 19,169 16.1 
			 2006-07 19,979 14.0 
			 2007-08 10,950 15.0 
			 2008-09 10,854 13.2 
		
	
	During 2007-08, RSA implemented changes to training course schedules that made more efficient use of ammunition. This dramatically reduces the amount of ammunition required, without impacting the quality of training provided, at a time when the cost of ammunition has risen sharply.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for the disposal of its stock of Vector armoured vehicles; and how many vehicles he expects to donate to Iraq following the withdrawal of British forces from that country.

Quentin Davies: There are no plans to gift any Vector vehicles to Iraq. The future role of the Vector Light Protected Patrol Vehicle when it is withdrawn from operations in Afghanistan is under review.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many undelivered Vector armoured vehicles his Department is contractually obliged to purchase; at what cost such purchases will be made; and what plans his Department has for the deployment or disposal of those vehicles.

Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence is contracted to procure an additional 20 Vector, at a total cost of £4.43 million, excluding VAT. At present the planned Out of Service date for Vector is 2015, and plans for the future role of Vector following its withdrawal from Afghanistan are still under review.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many  (a) Mastiff and  (b) Ridgback armoured vehicles have been (i) ordered for and (ii) delivered to UK Land Command;
	(2)  when he expects the order for the additional tranche of Mastiff vehicles announced by the Prime Minister on 7 October 2007 to be completed.

Quentin Davies: The first tranche of 108 Mastiff Protected Patrol Vehicles (PPVs) were delivered to HQ Land Forces by the end of 2007. A second tranche of 174 Mastiff PPVs have been ordered and to date 82 have been issued to HQ Land Forces. It is anticipated that this order will be completed by the end of September 2009.
	In addition, 24 Mastiff PPVs have been ordered as part of the Talisman project. It is currently planned that they will be delivered by the end of this year.
	157 Ridgback Urban Protected Patrol Vehicles have been ordered and to date, 37 have been issued to HQ Land Forces.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the performance of Vector armoured vehicles in Afghanistan; and what assessment he has made of the future status of the Vector fleet.

Quentin Davies: The evolving nature of the threat means that, following delivery of Mastiff 2, Ridgback and vehicles from the Protected Mobility package announced by the Secretary of State for Defence on 29 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 28-30WS, we intend to withdraw the Vector Light Protected Patrol Vehicle from operations in Afghanistan. Vector, which has also faced some reliability issues, will have a phased withdrawal once the better protected vehicles from the Protected Mobility package have been deployed.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost to his Department has been of  (a) procuring and  (b) maintaining the Vector fleet to date.

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Vector armoured vehicle programme has cost to date.

Quentin Davies: The current cost estimate for the Vector vehicle procurement programme is £44.43 million. This excludes costs for trials, MOD manpower costs, and additional items such as ancillaries, fuel, transport costs, ammunition, training and maintenance costs, which are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles of each type are  (a) available to be deployed immediately,  (b) undergoing repair,  (c) undergoing Bowman conversion,  (d) in storage,  (e) being used for training purposes and  (f) otherwise assigned.

Quentin Davies: The figures requested are provided in the following table as at 8 May 2009:
	
		
			  Vehicle Type  Undergoing repair  Undergoing Bowman conversion  In storage( 1)  Used for training purposes  Other( 2) 
			 AS90 1 3 44 32 3 
			 Challenger 2 11 0 125 93 6 
			 CRAARV 9 0 15 23 2 
			 CVR(T) 295 0 83 153 16 
			 Fuchs 1 0 0 0 0 
			 FV430 (Mk2 + Bulldog) 117 0 339 141 26 
			 Saxon 17 0 24 14 2 
			 Shielder 2 5 14 5 4 
			 Stormer 4 0 52 3 0 
			 Titan 3 0 0 12 6 
			 Trojan 0 0 0 13 5 
			 Warrior 158 16 83 103 14 
			 Mastiff 17 0 0 34 0 
			 Panther 2 0 163 86 2 
			 Ridgback 0 0 0 9 0 
			 Snatch 2a and Snatch VIXEN 19 0 0 142 0 
			 Vector 40 0 0 28 0 
			 Viking (all variants) 13 0 16 64 2 
			 (1) 'In storage' has been taken to mean those vehicles in controlled humidity environment as part of the whole fleet management programme (2) 'Other' has been taken to mean those vehicles retained by the manufacturers for research and testing purposes. 
		
	
	I am withholding the information requested on the numbers of vehicles available for deployment for operational security reasons.

Army: Parachuting

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of  (a) 2 Para,  (b) 3 Para,  (c) 7 Para and  (d) 9 Para are out-of-date parachutists under the two-year military parachutist in-date rule.

Bob Ainsworth: The percentage of parachutists within 2, 3, 7 and 9 PARA that are out-of-date in accordance with the two-year military in-date rule are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Unit  Percentage of trained Parachutists out-of-date 
			 2 PARA 27 
			 3 PARA 35 
			 7 PARA 32 
			 9 PARA 7

Defence Medical Services: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) required and  (b) actual strength of each (i) service and (ii) trade of the Defence Medical Services is.

Kevan Jones: Manning statistics for the Defence Medical Services (DMS) are updated twice a year, in April and October. The April 2009 data are currently being collated, but the following table summarises the October 2008 figures. This table provides the required manning level of the DMS, the additional requirement for a manning and training margin (MTM), and the total number of personnel, which has also been split between the trained strength and those in training.
	
		
			   Requirement  MTM( l)  Personnel trained strength  Personnel in training( 2)  Personnel total 
			 Royal Navy 1,311 211 1,328 248 1,576 
			 Army 4,521 437 3,779 591 4,370 
			 Royal Air Force 1,743 155 1583 75 1,658 
			 Tri-service total 7,575 803 6,690 914 7,604 
			 (1) The MTM includes a margin of trained personnel to take account of non-effective trained personnel. Non effective personnel are those who are trained but on terminal leave, long term sickness or mid career training. It also includes personnel who are undergoing speciality training i.e. holding some qualifications but not yet fully accredited. Our manning figures do not separate these elements, and so the table simply details the total requirement and the two constituent groups of personnel into the categories trained and 'in training'. (2) "Personnel in training" does not include personnel who are already trained in a medical speciality and who are in career directed professional training. 
		
	
	Tables providing the figures for each medical speciality, that show the requirement and the number of trained personnel, but not personnel in training, in each medical and dental personnel division of the armed forces as at October 2008, have been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Data Protection

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents of data loss from his Department involving  (a) personal computers,  (b) laptops and  (c) portable USB devices have been recorded in 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD takes any loss of information and associated media storage devices very seriously and has robust procedures in place to mitigate against such occurrences. New processes, instructions and technological aids are also being implemented to mitigate human errors and raise awareness of every individual in the Department. The following table shows the number of incidents of data losses from MOD involving  (a) personal computers,  (b) laptops and  (c) portable USB flash memory devices that have been centrally recorded from 1 January to 11 May 2009.
	
		
			   Total devices lost/stolen 
			 Personal computers 4 
			 Laptops 28 
			 Portable USB flash memory devices 20

Departmental Housing

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units of accommodation of  (a) one,  (b) two and  (c) three or more bedrooms his Department retains for the purposes of accommodating serving (i) officers and (ii) officials on long-term secondment to his Department; and what his most recent estimate is of the average annual (A) gross and (B) net cost of each type of accommodation in each such category.

Kevan Jones: I will write to my hon. Friend.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) BlackBerry devices and  (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

John Hutton: MOD branches are not required to report centrally incidents of loss or theft of mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) therefore this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As regards PDA BlackBerry devices, the following table shows losses by year since 2005. The PDA lost in 2009 is the only recorded incident involving a special adviser.
	
		
			   PDAs lost 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 1 
			 2007 1 
			 2008 0 
			 2009 1

Departmental Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of each edition of his Department's in-house staff magazine.

Bob Ainsworth: The principal central MOD publication, Defence Focus is distributed to the Houses of Parliament via the House of Lords Library, who receive a number of copies. We are making arrangements for future editions of Defence Focus to be distributed to the House of Commons Library, and will ask that they hold a copy of each edition in their archive.

Departmental Redundancy

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people he expects to be made redundant from his Department in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010.

Kevan Jones: Every effort is made to avoid compulsory redundancies across the Department. A departmental early release scheme will result in 498 volunteers leaving the Department early in financial year 2009-10, but there are no plans for compulsory redundancies.

Departmental Redundancy

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's staff have been made redundant in each of the last five years; and how much was paid in redundancy compensation in each such year.

Kevan Jones: To provide specific information would require a Department-wide trawl to ascertain total costs for all individuals who have left the Department on redundancy terms on local redundancy schemes. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	We hold information centrally on Department-wide voluntary early release schemes launched in 2005 and 2008, in connection with the civil service-wide reductions required under the 2004 and 2007 spending reviews. The total liability cost to the Department of individuals who left or are expected to leave on voluntary terms under these schemes is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  £ million  Releases 
			 2005-06 41 603 
			 2006-07 51 636 
			 2007-08 67 691 
			 2008-09 21 344 
			 2009-10 40 498

Ex-servicemen

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military veterans there are resident in each local authority area in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Northern Ireland.

Kevan Jones: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ex-servicemen: Vocational Guidance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the Careers Transition Partnership scheme in each year since 1998.

Kevan Jones: I will write to the hon. Gentleman.

Future Large Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the A400M from his Department's  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL was on 31 March 2009.

Quentin Davies: I am withholding the forecast cost of the A400M programme for 31 March 2009 as this information will be published in the Major Projects Report 2009 later this year.

Guided Weapons

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the number of  (a) air-launched and  (b) submarine-launched cruise missiles required to constitute a deterrent threat comparable to that of a Vanguard-class submarine; and what recent assessment he has made of the vulnerability of cruise missiles to destruction prior to reaching their targets.

John Hutton: Assessments of submarine and air launched cruise missile systems were made as part of the supporting evidence for the December 2006 White Paper "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm6994). No cruise missile launched system was considered to be as capable as a ballistic missile based deterrent. Cruise missiles are more vulnerable to interception, largely because of their slower speed and lower trajectory.

Guided Weapons

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the maximum range is of  (a) the Trident D5 ballistic missile and  (b) a submarine-launched cruise missile; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the maximum number of nuclear warheads is which can be carried by a single  (a) Trident and  (b) cruise missile.

John Hutton: The maximum range of a Trident D5 missile is approximately 6,000 nautical miles, and that of the UK's submarine launched Tomahawk cruise missile is approximately 1,000 nautical miles.
	The maximum number of warheads that can be carried on a single Trident D5 missile is 12. The UK does not possess nuclear armed cruise missiles. The options described in the 2006 White Paper "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm6994) assumed that if the UK procured a nuclear armed cruise missile, then one warhead would be carried on each missile.

Guided Weapons

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the capability of a state under attack from cruise missiles to determine prior to impact such missiles are armed with  (a) conventional and  (b) nuclear warheads.

John Hutton: The UK keeps the capabilities of cruise missiles from countries of concern, including the types of warhead, under continual review. We judge that to determine the type of warhead whilst the missile is in flight is not currently possible. However, if the state under attack has prior knowledge of the aggressors' cruise missile capabilities, the type of warhead may already be known.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British personnel based in Kuwait will receive  (a) the Operation Telic Medal and  (b) a council tax rebate; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Under the current arrangements armed forces personnel may only receive the Iraq Medal for service on the land and in the airspace of Iraq, as well as the waters of the Northern Gulf, Iraqi territorial seas and Iraqi internal waters. However, in common with all campaign medals the situation is kept under constant review, and continues to take into account the ongoing risks and rigours of the operations in which British troops are involved.
	As announced on 7 September 2007, council tax relief is paid to Service personnel serving in Camp Buehring who are involved in Operation Telic (roulement) 11. Payment has been made since 1 April 2008 and, in line with the introduction of Operational Allowance payment for these personnel, it was backdated to 1 November 2007.

Kenley Common

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the proposed temporary barriers at Kenley Common to be  (a) erected and  (b) removed.

Kevan Jones: Erection of the temporary safety barriers at Kenley airfield will take place during May 2009 at a date to be arranged with the supplier of the fencing. Removal of the safety barriers will depend on the results of the trial of this safety measure.

Kenley Common

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding he has allocated for the erection and removal of the temporary steel barriers proposed at Kenley Common; and whether provision has been made for such allocation in his Department's existing budget.

Kevan Jones: An allocation of £12,000 was made in the 2008-09 Air Cadets Organisations budget to cover the cost of purchase, delivery and siting of the temporary pedestrian safety barriers on the MOD airfield at Kenley. Removal of the barriers would incur no cost to the Department.

Kenley Common

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with  (a) Croydon Council,  (b) Tandridge District Council,  (c) the City of London and  (d) users of Kenley Common on his Department's plans to erect temporary fencing at the Common.

Kevan Jones: The Department's proposal for the erection of temporary safety barriers around Kenley airfield was raised with Croydon council and the Corporation of London at a safety working group meeting on 9 December 2008.
	In view of ongoing safety concerns and with the full endorsement of the Health and Safety Executive, the Department's intent to proceed with the erection of the safety barriers at the points from which gliders are launched was notified to Croydon council on 1 April 2009.
	No discussions have been held with Tandridge district council since the planned location for the barriers does not fall within their boundaries.
	No separate discussions have been held with users of Kenley Common.

Land Mines

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training facilities for landmine detection and clearance are available to members of the armed forces  (a) in the UK and  (b) overseas.

Bob Ainsworth: Members of the UK armed forces can carry out explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training in any exercise or operational area in the UK or overseas. In addition, there are purpose-built specialist facilities for mine detection and clearance training at: the Combat Engineer School at Minley; the Commando Training Centre Royal Marine in Lympstone; the Defence EOD Munitions and Search School at Lodge Hill in Kent; the Engineer Training and Advisory Team facility in Sennelager, Germany and Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
	A further purpose-built mine search and clearance facility is under construction at Carver Barracks in Wimbish.

Navy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many hours sea time on average is made available to members of  (a) university Royal Naval units and  (b) the Royal Naval Reserve annually;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to make sea time on patrol craft attached to university Royal Naval units available to members of the Royal Navy Reserve.

Bob Ainsworth: Approximately 33,600 hours of sea time is made available to University Royal Navy Units annually.
	The figures regarding the number of hours sea time for Royal Navy Reserves are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Royal Navy Reserves are provided with the necessary opportunities at sea to achieve and maintain their operational effectiveness and this remains an essential part of their training.
	The Royal Navy Reserves can request to use University Royal Navy Unit patrol craft for training purposes, which are made available where it is possible to do so without detriment to mandated University Royal Navy Unit roles.

Navy: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy personnel were serving aboard ship away from home on average in each year since 1997; and what proportion of total naval personnel this represented in each year.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Navy: Military Bases

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has for the continued functioning of the  (a) frigate fleet and  (b) submarine flotilla in the event of a naval base being put out of action following the implementation of the decision to allocate each type of warship to a single naval base.

Bob Ainsworth: Analysis conducted during the Naval Base Review confirmed a degree of excess capacity at the three Naval Bases; Devonport, Faslane and Portsmouth. This excess capacity deliberately provides a level of resilience for the Royal Navy Fleet which still exists today.
	Decisions taken under the Maritime Change Programme, including the ongoing optimisation work, which I announced to the House on 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 16WS do not impact upon that resilience. The Ministry of Defence is, therefore, confident that sufficient contingency exists across the three Naval Bases.

Navy: Telecommunications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the forecast cost of the Naval Extremely High/Super High Frequency Communications Terminals programme from his Department's  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL was on 31 March (i) 2001, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2003, (iv) 2004, (v) 2005, (vi) 2006, (vii) 2007, (viii) 2008 and (ix) 2009.

Quentin Davies: Prior to 31 March 2004 the information is not held in the format requested, and therefore could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For the period 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2008 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1144W.
	For 31 March 2009, the information requested is shown in the following table. The figures include the cost of the assessment, demonstration and manufacture phases.
	
		
			   31 March 2009 (£ million) 
			 Direct resource DEL 50 
			 Indirect resource DEL 13 
			 Capital DEL 123 
			 Total 186

Nuclear Weapons

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of the Trident replacement programme.

John Hutton: Our current estimate, published in the December 2006 White Paper "The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994), is that the total procurement costs of the successor deterrent capability will be in the region of £15-£20 billion, at 2006-07 prices, for a four-boat fleet. This comprises £11-14 billion for the submarines, £2-3 billion for the possible refurbishment or replacement of the warhead and £2-3 billion for infrastructure. These costs are being refined as experts continue to engage in detailed discussion with industry.

Piracy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance his Department has issued to the Royal Navy regarding the onward transfer of individuals captured in the course of committing acts of piracy on the high seas.

Bob Ainsworth: Royal Navy Commanding Officers will be aware of guidance on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Law of Armed Conflict, and the requirements for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), all of which are pertinent to counter piracy operations. Such internationally agreed conventions provide a framework for the way counter piracy operations are conducted.
	Guidance has been issued to UK forces off the coast of Somalia regarding the legal and evidential consideration for the transfer and subsequent prosecution of suspected pirates, under our arrangement with Kenya. This includes specific advice on the handling and detention of suspects.
	UK forces operate under Rules of Engagement and there is a specific profile for forces conducting counter piracy operations.

RAF Brize Norton

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Chapel of Rest which is planned to accommodate repatriated bodies of fallen servicemen at RAF Brize Norton will have been completed; whether he plans to return repatriations to RAF Brize Norton from RAF Lyneham; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: On current plans, repatriations will return to RAF Brize Norton in 2011. No decision has yet been made on when construction of a Chapel of Rest at the station might start. Appropriate facilities to support bereaved families and the dignity of the repatriation ceremony are to be provided as part of the overall development of the station.

RAF St. Athan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the contract for the St. Athan military training academy was signed.

Bob Ainsworth: The contract to deliver the proposed Defence Training College at St. Athan has not yet been signed. Contract signature is anticipated to take place in summer 2010.

Reserve Forces: Manpower

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many volunteer reservists in each service have been committed to operations in each year since 2004.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 443W.
	Information on volunteer reservists committed to operations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Regiment of Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Royal Regiment of Gibraltar; and when he next plans to review the number of troops stationed in that region.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Gibraltar Regiment continues to perform its primary role of supporting the defence and security of the territory of Gibraltar.
	As part of the routine annual planning round cycle the Ministry of Defence continually reviews its future plans across Defence including British Forces Gibraltar.

Somalia: Piracy

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what NATO assets will be used for Operation Atalanta under the  (a) 2003 Berlin Plus arrangements and  (b) 2002 NATO-EU Declaration on the European Security and Defence Policy; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no plans to use NATO assets for Operation Atalanta.
	Under the terms of the 2002 NATO-EU Declaration on ESDP, the EU has briefed non-EU European members of NATO on the operation.

Submarines: Decommissioning

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the submarine dismantling project.

Quentin Davies: The project currently has approval to undertake a £14 million assessment phase due to complete in 2011. This will be followed by the demonstration phase which will run from 2011 to 2013; costs for this phase have not yet been approved. Whole life cost figures will be developed as part of the preparation of the main gate business case, which is planned to be submitted for approval in 2013.

Submarines: Radiation Exposure

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances there have been of radioactive leaks from  (a) nuclear-armed and  (b) conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines in each of the last 12 years.

Quentin Davies: There have been nine leaks that were potentially radioactive. All these instances involved Ship Submersible Nuclear submarines which are conventionally armed submarines.
	The following table shows in which year each instance occurred.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 1 
			 2000 1 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 1 
			 2007 1 
			 2008 2 
			 2009 1

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

China and India: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the  (a) Chinese and  (b) Indian governments on the reduction of greenhouse emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: I apologise for the delay in replying to this question, which was inadvertently misplaced.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses climate change with key international partners, including China and India. Most recently he has met with Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, on his visit to China 3-6 May.
	In addition, the UK and China enjoy a positive dialogue at official level, which takes place through the UK-China Working Group on Climate Change, launched in September 2006. Key areas of focus include: progress towards an ambitious outcome at the climate change talks in Copenhagen; reviewing and developing ongoing climate science collaboration between the UK and China; and adaptation to climate change through phase two of the Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture project. The last meeting of the working group took place in London in August 2008 and the next meeting is scheduled to take place in Beijing later this year.
	The UK-India Structured Dialogue on Climate Change took place between senior officials in September last year in Delhi. The Secretary of State is looking forward to expanding on these conversations during international meetings such as the Major Economies Forum and the UNFCCC, as well as the UK-India bilateral summit, scheduled to take place later this year.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1806W, on liquefied petroleum gas, which trade groups he plans to meet; and when he plans to meet them.

Mike O'Brien: I will be meeting with the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UK PIA) next month.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Stafford of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 326W, on solar power, what information and guidance his Department has provided for applicants for grants for solar photovoltaic technology whose applications are being kept on hold.

Mike O'Brien: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 2 is managed by Building Research Establishment (BRE). BRE have taken a number of measures to ensure that all interested parties are kept fully informed about the current hold on solar PV funding. In particular, information is available on the LCBP website to keep applicants and framework suppliers up to date on grant commitments and developments in relation to the programme. BRE have also contacted applicants and a helpline service is available.
	Department officials also hold regular meetings with LCBP Phase 2 framework suppliers to track the progress of projects and to manage the programme through to June 2009.

Power Stations: Protest

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information held by his Department and its predecessors on plans relating to protests at  (a) coal-fired and  (b) nuclear power plants has been provided to (i) E.ON and (ii) other power generators in the last two years.

Mike O'Brien: Contingency planning for protests at power stations is a matter for the owners, the local police force and in the case of nuclear plants, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. If it is aware of likely protests the Department may liaise with these parties to ensure contingency plans are in place to protect security of supply, although people also have rights to legally protest.

River Severn: Tidal Power

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which seminars and public events on tidal power in the Severn he and his officials  (a) have attended since 26 January 2009 and  (b) propose to attend before the end of the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study Consultation.

Mike O'Brien: The first Severn tidal power consultation has now closed. Since the launch of the consultation—which was attended by some 150 stakeholders—I have chaired several Severn tidal power parliamentary forums (for MPs, Lords, Welsh Assembly Members, and MEPs); a regional forum with senior representatives of local authorities, local business and environmental organisations; and launched the Severn Embryonic Technologies Scheme, to fund the development of new technology proposals. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State replied to the private Member's debate on the feasibility study in Westminster Hall.
	DECC officials have (in addition to a large number of bilateral meetings with stakeholders) attended a wide variety of stakeholder and public meetings including those listed:
	A meeting of the Steering Group for the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Severn tidal power.
	Multiple meetings with local strategic partnerships, council members and officials.
	Two public meetings (in Brean and Burnham-on-Sea) organised by the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory).
	Two public forums on tidal energy (in Bristol and Cardiff) organised by the Royal Society of Arts.
	A public meeting in Penarth organised by Chris Franks AM and Leanne Wood AM.
	A public meeting organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in Bristol.
	National Council of Women Seminar 2009 at Minsterworth, Gloucester.
	Frampton on Severn Sailing Club meeting.
	The South West TUC Conference.
	The Institute of Civil Engineers Severn Tidal Energy Conference.
	The BERR and DECC Business Climate Change and Energy Group (for energy companies and users).
	Renewable Energy Association Ocean Energy Group.
	Citi Institutional Investors Group.
	Several meetings with regional port authorities.
	The Department's partners in the feasibility study (including Welsh Assembly Government, the South West Regional Development Agency, and Government Office South West) and consultants to the feasibility study have also attended a number of meetings and events to provide information about the study and consultation.

River Severn: Tidal Power

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change by what means he has engaged with  (a) the general public and  (b) those likely to be affected by the Severn tidal power schemes shortlisted for further consideration consequent on consultation on the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study published on 26 January 2009.

Mike O'Brien: The general public and those likely to be affected by the proposed shortlist of potential Severn tidal power schemes have been engaged in the feasibility study in the following ways:
	A three month public consultation on the recommended short-list of schemes and the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The consultation, supporting documents and an accessible summary of information were all made available on our website.
	The Severn Tidal Parliamentary Forum for MPs, Lords and AMs.
	The Severn Tidal Regional Forum co-chaired by Jane Davidson AM, the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) and me for senior representatives of local authorities, local business and environmental organisations.
	The Strategic Environmental Assessment Steering Group, which includes statutory advisers, environmental NGOs, business representatives and academics.
	Numerous meetings with stakeholders.
	Public meetings for local businesses, representatives and individuals as requested by the local MP.
	Interviews with local and national media to raise the public profile of the consultation.
	Encouraging stakeholders and third parties to hold events to inform their own constituencies and providing materials to aid their discussions.
	Regular email updates to the over one thousand stakeholders and members of the public who have expressed an interest in receiving information on the feasibility study.
	Nearly 10,000 unique visitors have visited our consultation website and around 700 consultation responses have been received.

Warm Front Scheme

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support is available to Warm Front customers to replace faulty domestic boilers fitted under the scheme.

Joan Ruddock: Warm Front customers who have received a gas boiler have access to a 24 hour breakdown line, which operates seven days a week and 365 days a year. In the majority of cases this service provides either a same day or next day response. Temporary heaters will also be provided under certain circumstances.
	The Warm Front Scheme will first try to repair a faulty boiler. If the installer cannot repair it, they will recommend replacing the boiler with a similar model, for example, a standard boiler will be replaced with another standard boiler which is just as (or more) efficient.
	In addition gas boilers installed or repaired under Warm Front receive two annual service visits. These are carried out approximately 12 and 24 months after the date of installation.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent support his Department has provided to  (a) small,  (b) medium and  (c) large businesses in the West Midlands.

Ian Pearson: The Government are providing a range of support to businesses and industry. Information on the full range of national support available can be accessed at
	www.realhelpnow.gov.uk
	The West Midlands Task Force set up by the Minister for the West Midlands, has established a 'one stop shop' website
	www.supportwm.co.uk
	dedicated to signposting businesses and individuals in the region to support available, including specialist regional support.
	In addition to help sign post businesses to support available in the region, Advantage West Midlands (AWM) is preparing a document which maps out the current initiatives available for difference size businesses—micro/small, medium and large. The final document will describe the initiatives in more detail. AWM are in the process of finalising this document and it will be accessible via
	www.supportwm.co.uk.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 19 February 2009, transferred from the Department for International Development on 25 February 2009, on tax evasion by multinational companies.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 11 May 2009
	 I replied to the hon. Member on 7 May 2009.

Ministers: Members Interests

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform who the trustee of the blind trust operated on behalf of the Secretary of State is; and on what basis that person was chosen.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 5 May 2009
	 In accordance with the requirements of the ministerial code, my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State declared this information to the permanent secretary and the independent adviser on Ministers' interests. However, it is personal information and disclosure is not required.

Press: Competition

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of likely levels of competition within the newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution market in the period up to autumn 2009.

Gareth Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has undertaken a detailed examination of newspaper and magazine distribution arrangements over a period of several years. In October 2008, the OFT issued a final opinion providing guidance to industry on the compatibility of those arrangements with competition law. At the same time, the OFT published for consultation its proposed decision not to refer the newspaper and magazine supply sector (which includes newspaper and magazine distribution) to the Competition Commission for a market investigation. The consultation closes on 19 May and the OFT plans to publish its decision by autumn 2009. BERR understands the OFT is monitoring recent market developments, and will carefully consider representations made by interested parties, including those on likely levels of competition, before taking a final decision on a referral.

Retail Trade: Cleveland

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps his Department has taken to assist the retail industry in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government have launched the "Real Help Now" initiative to assist businesses through the downturn. This is a new service providing employers and individuals with easy access to free advice and support. In the North East the campaign "Real help for Businesses and People Now" aims to highlight the funds and finance made available by One North East, Business Link, Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus and the Government office for the North East.
	The regional development agency, One North East is supporting businesses and business sectors across the region. Information and support on the Real Help Now initiative can be accessed in the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland area via Business Link. Latest figures for 2008-09 show that 102 retails businesses were supported by Business Link across the NE region, unfortunately data is not available for individual constituencies.

Royal Mail

Frank Dobson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 56W, on Royal Mail, how much he estimates will be charged in fees by  (a) UBS,  (b) Freshfields and  (c) Deloitte for advising on the proposed part-privatisation of Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: The work on the partnership deal for Royal Mail is ongoing. It would not be appropriate to give an estimate of the overall cost of advisers' fees at this stage, as this remains subject to a range of variable factors. These include the length of the process, number of interested parties and the final shape of any partnership agreement.
	Government will, of course, make the overall expenditure on advisers available once the deal has been completed and the costs are known.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on proposals to increase the level of fines issued under the penalty notices for disorder system; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: Apart from those from the hon. Lady, no representations have been received on reported proposals to increase the fine levels for penalty notices for disorder. I will be writing to the hon. Lady shortly in response to her letter of 28 April.
	Under the Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme introduced under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, the penalty amounts are £80 for higher tier offences such as criminal damage and £50 for lower tier offences such as trespassing on a railway. If the recipient of a notice neither pays this penalty nor opts for a court hearing a fine of one and a half times the penalty amount is registered against him and enforced as any other fine. We have no plans to change these arrangements.

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which  (a) rooms and  (b) other areas of HM Prison Ashwell are inoperable following the disturbance of 11 April 2009; and for how long he estimates the damaged areas will be inoperable.

David Hanson: Following the disturbance A, B, C, and D wings, totalling 415 accommodation rooms, are out of use.
	On the non-accommodation areas, the Potatopak workshop is out of use. It is not yet possible to say for how long the Plastics workshop will be out of use. The Paints CIT (Construction Industry Training) workshop is due to be ready for use on 11 May, and the Offender Management Unit (OMU) will be refurbished and is due for completion in September 2009.

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the disturbance at HMP Ashwell on 11 April 2009 arising from  (a) damage to prison property,  (b) deploying additional Prison Service staff and other emergency services personnel to deal with the disturbance,  (c) transporting prisoners to other prisons and  (d) conducting an investigation into the incident.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS)/Prison Service investigation which is due to be completed by 29 May will estimate the cost to NOMS of resolving the disturbance. I will make the findings of the investigation and our conclusions on it available to the House in due course.
	The investigation will not cover damage to property as decisions which will determine the costs of damage have yet to be made, and are not within the scope of the investigation. I will write to the hon. Member when known.
	The cost of the other emergency services is a matter for the individual emergency services.

Commonhold

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 13 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1615, on commonhold tenure, what steps have been taken to promote the operation of shared ownership leases in residential commonhold units since 2006.

David Hanson: No steps have been taken to promote the operation of shared ownership leases in residential commonhold. Long leases of more than seven years, including shared ownership leases, are not possible in commonhold.
	Affordable housing can be provided in commonhold by means of shared ownership trusts. The Finance Act 2007 extended the same stamp duty land tax treatment available to shared ownership leases in leasehold to shared ownership trusts in commonhold.

Coroners: Complaints

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints his Department has received on  (a) coroner Dr. Paul Knapman and  (b) deputy coroner Dr. William Dolman in the last five years; and what steps have been taken in response to such complaints.

Jack Straw: The Lord Chief Justice and I have joint responsibility, through the Office for Judicial Complaints, for considering complaints against the judiciary, including coroners. However, those powers do not extend to deputy coroners.
	We have recently announced that we will usually make public information about members of the judiciary who are removed from office as a result of the consideration of a complaint or conduct issue about them. We do not normally comment, however, on whether or not a complaint has been lodged against a named member of the judiciary until such time as any such matter is fully investigated and the Lord Chief Justice and I have decided that a disciplinary sanction is required. In exceptional circumstances, however, the Office for Judicial Complaints may confirm that an investigation is under way, where the matter is already in the public domain.

Departmental Databases

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the number of inaccurate records on the (a) National Offender Management Information System,  (b) Offender Risk Assessment System,  (c) Offender Management National Infrastructure and  (d) Libra Case Management System.

Jack Straw: NOMIS is currently operating solely as a pilot system in the Isle of Wight cluster. NOMIS holds 1,508 offender records, solely relating to offenders currently held within HMP Isle of Wight. There have been 31 instances of records being incomplete, six instances of inaccurate records due to user error and a further 22 records whose inaccuracy will be resolved by the system being upgraded to the latest version. Incomplete and inaccurate records are less than 4 per cent. of all NOMIS records. The number of inaccurate records is small. Any errors are corrected as soon as they are identified. All systems have processes in place to minimise data input errors.
	No information is kept of the number of occasions it is necessary to amend records held on the Offender Assessment System (OASys), which are shared with the offender in order to maintain accuracy. If an inaccuracy is identified, it is corrected immediately.
	The Offender Management National Infrastructure (OMNI) is the IT infrastructure used within the National Probation Service: it is not in itself a database and thus does not hold records.
	Although there is no process for summarising the number of inaccurate records, HM Courts Service has systems in place to maximise the accuracy of the data held on the Libra system. Any inaccurate records that are found on the system are corrected as soon as they are identified.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average price was of a property sold in each year since 1995, expressed in 2009 prices.

Michael Wills: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Annual average price  Annual average price at Q1 2009 prices 
			 1995 68,079 96,297 
			 1996 71,519 98,777 
			 1997 78,226 104,749 
			 1998 84,669 109,617 
			 1999 94,846 120,938 
			 2000 108,164 133,950 
			 2001 119,275 145,153 
			 2002 138,200 165,417 
			 2003 156,154 181,649 
			 2004 178,542 201,685 
			 2005 189,580 208,241 
			 2006 203,708 216,870 
			 2007 219,408 223,975 
			 2008 216,884 212,946 
			  Note: The third column of the table shows the average price of properties sold in each year, adjusted to Q1 (January-March) 2009 prices using the all-item non-seasonally adjusted retail prices index (RPI). The RPI has been used because it includes price changes to housing-related items such as mortgage interest payments, depreciation, council tax, dwelling insurance and ground rent, which are not included in the consumer prices index.

Knives: Convictions

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged under 21 years have been convicted for offences related to possession of a knife in each of the last five years; and how many received  (a) a caution,  (b) an absolute or conditional discharge,  (c) a fine,  (d) a community sentence,  (e) a suspended custody,  (f) immediate custody and  (g) another disposal.

Jack Straw: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Offences involving the possession of a knife or offensive weapon resulting in a caution or sentence( 1,2) , committed by offenders aged under 21, England and Wales, 2004-08 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Total 11,429 11,908 13,135 12,426 11,405 
			 Caution, reprimands and final warnings 5,069 5,509 6,288 5,714 4,188 
			 Absolute/Conditional discharge 843 737 620 519 352 
			 Fine 697 531 403 308 246 
			 Community sentence 3,565 3,722 4,043 4,017 4,498 
			 Suspended sentence 4 61 285 361 479 
			 Immediate custody 994 1,090 1,217 1,255 1,424 
			 Other disposal 257 258 279 252 218 
			 (1) As recorded by the police on the police national computer. (2) The figures are a count of offences rather than offenders. Where an offender has been sentenced for several possession offences each sentence has been counted. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
	PNC data has been used here rather than court data, which is the usual source of published sentencing statistics. The PNC data provides more up to date figures ahead of the finalised annual court data and was used for the Ministry of Justice's publication "Knife Crime Sentencing: Quarterly Brief" published on 12 March 2009 and available from:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/knife-crime-sentencing.htm

Magistrates Courts: Repairs and Maintenance

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much HM Courts Service spent on the maintenance of magistrates courts in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: Her Majesty's Courts Service was created on 1 April 2005. Prior to that date ownership and operation of magistrates courts was the responsibility of the forty two magistrates courts committees in England and Wales. No detailed consolidated financial information is available for that period.
	HM Courts Service costs related to the maintenance of magistrates courts buildings for financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08 were as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Resource  Capital  Total 
			 2005-06 22,941 — 22,941 
			 2006-07 25,473 12,460 37,933 
			 2007-08 22,403 14,900 37,303 
		
	
	Her Majesty's Courts Service is unable separately to identify the capital maintenance expenditure element of magistrates courts capital expenditure for 2005-06.

Offences against Children

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged 21 years or over have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for offences related to sexual activity with a child under 13 in each year since 2004.

Jack Straw: Information on the number of persons aged 21 years and over who were proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for sexual activity with a child under 13 in England and Wales 2004 to 2007 (latest available) is contained in the table.
	Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. This makes direct comparisons with previous legislation very difficult. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation.
	
		
			  Number of persons aged 21 or over proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to sexual activity with a child aged under 13( 1) , England and Wales( 2,3,4) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Offence category  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Sexual assault of a male child aged under 13 19 4 72 36 82 41 81 41 
			 Rape or attempted rape of a child aged under 13 45 3 112 37 142 64 142 69 
			 Sexual assault of a female child aged under 13 128 29 367 152 400 238 448 246 
			 Sexual activity with a child aged under 13 62 18 228 81 199 131 217 128 
			 Familial sexual offences of a child aged under 13 7 4 35 20 34 17 37 24 
			 Abuse of children aged under 13 through prostitution and pornography — — 1 — — — 2 — 
			 Abuse of trust—sexual offences against a child aged under 13 2 — 2 4 1 1 2 — 
			 Total 263 58 817 330 858 492 929 508 
			 (1) Includes the following statutes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003: Sections 5, 6, 7, 8 (1) (2) & (3), 9 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & (2) & (3), 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & (3), 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(ii) & (2), 12 (1)(a)(b)(c)(ii) & 2, 25 (1)(e)(ii) and (2)-(4)(a)(b). S.47(1) (a), (b) & (c)(ii), (2), (3) & (6), 49 (1)(a)(b)(ii) & (2) (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) The found guilty column may exceed those proceeded against, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates courts took place in the proceeding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Prison Accommodation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 569WS, on prisons and probation, how many prison places will be built in each of the next three years.

Jack Straw: In total 1,785 new places are planned for delivery in 2009. The table shows the number of new places currently planned for delivery in each of the next three years:
	
		
			   Prison places 
			 2010 2,968 
			 2011 1,200 
			 2012 1,980 
		
	
	Figures include new build places and those provided through conversions of existing buildings, for example the conversion to a new prison of former RAF accommodation at Coltishall, Norfolk. Places provided through other measures such as cell reclaims are excluded.
	I announced on 27 April that we will provide 7,500 places through new 1,500 place prisons. The construction of the new prisons will allow for the closure of older less efficient places. We plan to begin the tendering process for the construction and operation of the first two 1,500 place prisons in the summer.

Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether people sentenced to two months custody or less and then released on end of custody licence are entitled to receive a discharge grant; what proportion of such people received such a grant in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Prisoners sentenced to two months or less in custody and released on End of Custody Licence (ECL) are not entitled to a discharge grant.

Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been sentenced to two months custody or less and then released on end of custody licence before serving any part of the sentence since 1 July 2007.

David Hanson: No prisoners sentenced to less than two months have been released on ECL without serving any part of their sentence.
	Under the End of Custody Licence scheme eligible prisoners may be released up to 18 days earlier than the half-way point of their sentence subject to serving a minimum of seven days in custody after sentence.

Prisoners Release: Expenditure

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much expenditure has been incurred from the budgets of  (a) prison governors and  (b) his Department in subsistence payments to offenders in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: The expenditure paid by prisons on subsistence payments has been included in the recorded expenditure, for discharge grants. It would incur disproportionate costs to separate the expenditure on subsistence payments from discharge grants as we would need to survey all prison establishments.

Prisoners: Suicide

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many suicides within  (a) adult prisons and  (b) young offender institutions took place within the first seven days of custody in each year since 1997.

Jack Straw: Any death in custody is a tragic event. The Government are committed to learning from such events and reducing the number of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody. The National Offender Management Service has a broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy that seeks to reduce the distress of all those in prison. This encompasses a wide spectrum of prison and Department of Health work around such issues as mental health, substance misuse and resettlement. Any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is cared for using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) procedures.
	Research on prisons and prison deaths has highlighted the early period of custody as a particularly vulnerable period for self-inflicted deaths. A lot of work has been put into reducing the number of such deaths in general, as well as specifically, in early custody. The following table details the number of self-inflicted deaths that occurred within seven days of commencing custody. Some prisons hold both adults and young offenders; therefore the figures are broken down by the age profile of the prison.
	
		
			  Type of prison  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Adult 14 19 22 20 6 20 18 23 13 6 10 9 
			 Adult/YOI 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 YOI 1 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	The Prison Service definition of self-inflicted deaths is broader than the legal definition of suicide and includes all deaths where it appears that a prisoner has acted specifically to take their own life. This inclusive approach is used in part because inquest verdicts are often not available for some years after a death (some 20 per cent. of these deaths will not receive a suicide or open verdict at inquest). Annual numbers may change slightly from time to time as inquest verdicts and other information becomes available.

Prisons: Barking and Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  who his Department consulted prior to the decision to secure the site at Beam Park West to build a prison; who will be responsible for making the decision on the planning application to construct a prison on that site; and whether his Department has contingency plans for circumstances in which planning permission for that site is refused;
	(2)  which  (a) Ministerial colleagues and  (b) government agencies he consulted prior to making the decision to build a prison on the Beam Park West site;
	(3)  who will be responsible for submitting the planning application for the construction of a prison on the Beam Park West site;
	(4)  what plans he has to consult  (a) resident groups,  (b) local councillors,  (c) housing associations and  (d) others in the local community on the proposed prison at Beam Park West;
	(5)  what mechanisms have been put in place to enable local residents' views to be taken into account in the process of construction of the proposed prison at Beam Park West.

Jack Straw: My Department consulted both the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority concerning the availability of sites in the London area.
	The responsibility for submitting the planning application is with the head of site assessment and planning within NOMS. It will be submitted to the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and determined by the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
	Prior to the submission of a planning application for the site, officials will hold a public exhibition of the proposals. A wide area surrounding the site will be leafleted, advising local people of the exhibition and our proposals for the prison. The local planning authority will be consulted about the scope, location, date and time of the exhibition and about specific groups of local people, councillors and others they feel we should make a special presentation to.
	We will consider the options available to us should the application be refused.

Prisons: Barking and Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  when he expects the proposed prison on the Beam Park West site to reach its prisoner capacity;
	(2)  what timetable he has set for construction of the proposed prison on the Beam Park West site.

Jack Straw: Construction activity at the Beam Park West site will commence once the contracts have been awarded and a successful bidder is in place. This timetable is therefore dependent on successful conclusion of the procurement and detailed planning processes, currently estimated to be mid-2011. Construction itself will take approximately two years.
	It is intended that the proposed Beam Park West site will be populated in a phased manner taking into account wider population management issues across the estate. It is anticipated that within six months of opening, the site would be running at its intended capacity.

Prisons: Barking and Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  by what mechanisms the criteria for bids for  (a) construction and  (b) operation of the proposed prison on the Beam Park West site will be published; and when he expects such criteria to be published;
	(2)  what timetable he has established for private contractors to bid for the operating contract for Beam Park West Prison.

Jack Straw: The tender criteria for Beam Park West will be published via an invitation to tender (ITT), and in line with the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) compliant EU procurement directives, during the main procurement later this year.
	The timetable for bidder engagement is expected to commence at some stage this year with the publication of the relevant OJEU notice.

Prisons: Barking and Dagenham

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which will be created by building a prison on the Beam Park West site;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on local transport infrastructure of the construction of a prison on the Beam Park West site.

Jack Straw: Research indicates that the operation of a 1,500 place prison is likely to create around 800 jobs, many of which are likely to be held by local people.
	It is not anticipated that the construction of a prison will have an adverse impact on local transport infrastructure. However, following discussions with the local planning and highways authorities, a transport assessment will be submitted in support of the planning application.

Prisons: Violence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many violent incidents  (a) requiring at least one of the parties to attend hospital and  (b) resulting in a death there have been in prisons in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Every homicide in prison custody is a tragedy. Reducing violence, whatever the level of severity, in prisons is a priority. We are committed to working towards a zero tolerance approach to prison violence. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to both the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety.
	Data are not held centrally on the numbers attending hospital as a result of violent incidents. However, data are provided in the following table on assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatients.
	
		
			  Apparent homicides and assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatient. 
			  Measure  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  (a) Assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as inpatient(1) 235 263 235 210 235 
			  (b) Apparent homicides(2) 2 3 0 2 3 
			 (1) Assault incidents resulting in attendance at hospital as an inpatient are as reported on IRS at 31 March 2009. (2) Numbers of apparent homicides are subject to confirmation at inquest and should be interpreted as provisional. 
		
	
	Attendance at hospital is dependent, in part, on the availability of health care facilities within a prison. A large local prison with inpatient facilities may well care for injured prisoners "in house". A prison without such facilities would send the prisoner to an outside hospital.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what office facilities are provided for the exclusive use of each of the trade unions recognised by his Department in  (a) departmental premises and  (b) the premises of his Department's executive agencies; and what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09.

Jack Straw: In departmental premises the Departmental Trade Union Side are currently provided with an office for their use in the MOJ headquarters building. The value of this facility is estimated at £40,000 p.a.
	In relation to the Department's Executive Agencies; in Her Majesty's Prison Service the Prison Officers Association (POA) are provided with an office for their sole use in all establishments. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and Prospect share an office and Prison Governors Association (PGA) have sole use of an office within the National Offender Management Service Headquarters building in London, the value of which facility is approximately £50,000.00 per annum.
	In addition and in all other Executive Agencies, trade unions are provided with varying type of facilities although none is for their exclusive use.
	Due to the variability of such provision it is not possible to provide a notional monetary value.

Young Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged  (a) under 16,  (b) 16 or 17 and  (c) between 18 to 21 years served custodial sentences of (i) less than three months and (ii) between three and six months in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: The following table shows figures for how many people were detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales aged  (a) under 16  (b) 16 or 17 and  (c) between 18 and 21-years-old who were serving custodial sentences of (i) less than or equal to three months and (ii) between three and six months as at 30 June in each year since 1997:
	
		
			Less than or equal to three months  Greater than three les s  than or equal to six months 
			  2008  Female   
			  16-17 2 19 
			  18-21 30 59 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 9 70 
			  16-17 45 342 
			  18-21 369 695 
			 
			  2007  Female   
			  16-17 1 19 
			  18-21 45 48 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 6 52 
			  16-17 50 348 
			  18-21 404 656 
			 
			  2006  Female   
			  16-17 0 13 
			  18-21 31 39 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 6 83 
			  16-17 35 342 
			  18-21 370 666 
			 
			  2005  Female   
			  16-17 2 19 
			  18-21 24 42 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 4 71 
			  16-17 35 370 
			  18-21 332 674 
			 
			  2004  Female   
			  16-17 2 17 
			  18-21 43 47 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 5 76 
			  16-17 24 311 
			  18-21 330 710 
			 
			  2003  Female   
			  16-17 0 11 
			  18-21 37 46 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 3 64 
			  16-17 19 315 
			  18-21 368 785 
			 
			  2002  Female   
			  Under 16 0 2 
			  16-17 1 19 
			  18-21 36 49 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 6 73 
			  16-17 14 320 
			  18-21 354 723 
			 
			  2001  Female   
			  Under 16 0 2 
			  16-17 0 14 
			  18-21 38 53 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 2 90 
			  16-17 8 442 
			  18-21 434 926 
			 
			  2000  Female   
			  Under 16 0 2 
			  16-17 1 18 
			  18-21 34 45 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 6 72 
			  16-17 14 313 
			  18-21 356 709 
			 
			  1999  Female   
			  Under 16 4 1 
			  16-17 6 17 
			  18-21 30 36 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 26 41 
			  16-17 111 240 
			  18-21 382 707 
			 
			  1998  Female   
			  Under 16 4 1 
			  16-17 8 11 
			  18-21 27 41 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 20 48 
			  16-17 92 241 
			  18-21 371 750 
			 
			  1997  Female   
			  Under 16 3 0 
			  16-17 4 7 
			  18-21 17 28 
			   Male   
			  Under 16 20 40 
			  16-17 81 220 
			  18-21 322 758 
		
	
	The sentence lengths given in the table are in accordance with normal practice. The figures are a re-working of material published in the Prison Statistics of England and Wales, 1997-2002 and Offender Management Caseload Statistics, 2003-07, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the re-offending rates of persons discharged from  (a) young offender institutions,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) secure children's homes in each of the next 12 months.

David Hanson: The Government have a target to achieve a 10 per cent. reduction in the frequency rate of reoffending by 2011 against the 2005 baseline. We do not forecast on a monthly basis.
	The latest National Statistics on reoffending shows that there has been a 16.2 per cent. fall in the frequency rate of reoffending of juveniles (both male and female) released from custody between 2000 and 2006. Overall the frequency rate of juvenile reoffending has fallen by 18.7 per cent. between 2000 and 2006.

Youth Custody

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the size of the juvenile population in  (a) young offender institutions,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) secure children's homes in each of the next 12 months.

David Hanson: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is responsible for commissioning and purchasing places in the under-18 secure estate. It monitors the demand for places and adjusts capacity across the estate when necessary in response to changes in demand.
	The YJB recently analysed the level of demand for secure training centre and secure children's home places in order to determine the optimum number of SCH beds to be commissioned in the recent contracting round. It looked at data relating to the last three years. The YJB is confident that the number of places being commissioned over the next 12 months in each sector of the under-18 secure estate will meet demand.

Youth Custody

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children were moved  (a) from secure training centres to secure children's homes and  (b) from secure children's homes to secure training centres in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The Youth Justice Board records individual movements between establishments but does not centrally collate the data in a format which would enable it to provide the information requested. To do that would require a review of each case over the past 12 months, which could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate costs.

Youth Custody

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children from  (a) London and  (b) the South East outside London the Youth Justice Board were sent to (i) secure children's homes and (ii) secure training centres in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The following table sets out how many young people from London and the South East region have been remanded in, or sentenced to, custody by the courts and subsequently placed by the Youth Justice Board in secure training centres or secure children's homes in the period, 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009.
	
		
			  Region  S ecure  children's home  S ecure  training centre  Total 
			 London 77 293 370 
			 South East 60 125 185 
			 Total 137 418 555 
		
	
	These data have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative computer systems.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) contributed £17 million in 2008 to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) emergency appeals which respond to chronic food insecurity in Afghanistan. These appeals reached 8.7 million of Afghanistan's most vulnerable people. WFP assessments indicate that in-country stocks are now sufficient to meet needs until the next harvest.
	DFID also allocated £10 million over five years (2008-13) to the HALO trust, in addition to £3 million this year of core funding, to help expand their de-mining operations in Afghanistan. £4 million was also provided (2007-08) to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support enforcement of international humanitarian law and facilitate the supply of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
	In addition, DFID provides core funding to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), all of whom have operations in Afghanistan.

CDC

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will instruct CDC Group to publish a financial review for 2008.

Douglas Alexander: CDC published its annual report and accounts for 2008 on 30 April 2009. These are available from the CDC website at:
	www.cdcgroup.com
	and in the Library of the House.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivan Lewis: I visited eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 26 to 29 April 2009 and was made acutely aware of the alarming humanitarian situation. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA), FDLR (ex-FAR Interhamwe) and other rebel groups, continue to prey on the civilian population, provoking displacement and untold suffering. The United Nations (UN) estimates some 1.7 million are displaced, with over 300,000 newly displaced in 2009. The humanitarian community is currently bracing itself for the humanitarian consequences of the joint FARDC and MONUC military operation against the FDLR (Operation Kimia II) in South Kivu and has, as a result, developed contingency plans. In meetings with MONUC, I pressed upon MONUC the importance of ensuring adequate steps are taken to mitigate the impact of military operations on civilians and to work closely with the humanitarian community.
	The well-established humanitarian response to the ongoing crisis in eastern DRC is able to cope with current levels of displacement and existing need. DFID established Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in 2005, run by UNICEF with NGO partners, to provide water and sanitation, shelter, non-food items and education for conflict affected populations. Other DFID partners, including Oxfam, IRC, MERLIN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provide food, nutrition and health assistance. However, DFID is constantly assessing the situation and is ready to provide additional support if necessary.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to tackle malaria in the developing world.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government provide significant support for efforts to reduce malaria. We have committed £1 billion from 2008 to 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, as well as directly supporting developing countries, research and other international organisations. To date we have provided £49 million in support to the Roll Back Malaria partnership. We are providing £40 million for the Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria (AMFm)—a financing mechanism to make effective malaria drugs available and affordable through public, private and non-governmental channels. The UK is also providing 20 million extra bed nets towards achieving the goal of universal bed net coverage by 2010.

Developing Countries: Malaria

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is giving to developing countries for measures to reduce the number of deaths from malaria.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government's support to reduce the number of deaths from malaria is provided through global partnerships; multilateral agencies; and bilateral country programmes. Most of these are for both the treatment of malaria and reduction of incidence, including through widespread use of insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs).
	We have committed £1 billion from 2008 to 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The UK is also providing 20 million extra bed nets towards achieving the goal of universal bed net coverage by 2010. Our bilateral programmes focus on giving support to countries to develop strong and sustainable health systems that are able to scale-up the coverage of treatment including artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) and ITNs. In Kenya our support includes the purchase and distribution of 14 million ITNs and 5 million re-treatment kits. In Mozambique our support will help reach their Ministry of Health's target of 95 per cent. ITN coverage for pregnant women and children under five in at least one province and at least 60 per cent. in two other provinces.

Food Supply

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional resources his Department is providing for measures to combat world food shortages in the global economic downturn.

Michael Foster: To combat world food shortages the UK Government have announced a package of assistance worth over £908 million to tackle high food prices. This included both short and long-term measures:
	£400 million for agricultural research over five years
	£30 million to the World Food Programme
	£22 million extra for the Ethiopia safety net (July 08)
	£8 million for nutrition monitoring
	£76 million for road building in DRC
	£32 million for social protection in Mozambique and Bangladesh
	£6.5 million for food aid and agricultural inputs for Afghanistan
	£217 million in budget support for Ghana, Uganda and Malawi.
	More information and analysis of progress towards meeting the MDG 1 Hunger target and what the UK is doing to achieve this target is available in the DFID Hunger Factsheet.

Food Supply

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress in ensuring global food security.

Michael Foster: Global food price rises at the end of 2007 and throughout 2008 have hit the poorest people in developing countries the hardest. While international prices for most food commodities have come down, they remain high, especially at country level, and over 900 million people cannot meet their food needs. Globally the number of hungry people is forecast to top one billion this year. Food security is now threatened by the global economic crisis. The problem continues not just because prices remain high in many developing countries, but also because recession is reducing people's incomes.
	The UK has led the international response and has called for all donors, international organisations, private sector and civil society to double efforts to tackle global hunger and poverty. UK has announced a package of assistance worth over £908 million to tackle high food prices. The UK Prime Minister has emphasised it would be wrong to reduce support for poor countries at this time.
	More information and analysis of progress towards meeting the MDG 1 Hunger target and what the UK is doing to achieve this target is available in the DFID Hunger Factsheet.

HIV Infection: International Co-operation

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on global efforts to address HIV/AIDS.

Ivan Lewis: Department for International Development (DFID) Ministers and officials maintain an extensive dialogue with key international partners. I have recently discussed AIDS issues with senior figures at the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, World Health Organisation, UN Population Fund and World Bank and with Ministers during recent country visits to Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
	There is regular ongoing UK/US dialogue between Ministers, and at official level between DFID and PEPFAR staff (The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). These discussions will continue.

Overseas Aid

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: Global food price rises at the end of 2007 and throughout 2008 have hit the poorest people in developing countries the hardest. Higher food prices have triggered an increase in hunger worldwide—last year 75 million more people have been pushed into hunger—making the task of reaching the MDG 1 target more difficult. Furthermore in many developing countries recession is reducing people's income, making it harder to buy food. While international prices for most food commodities have come down, they remain high, especially at country level, and over 900 million people cannot meet their food needs. However, hunger has been reduced in Eastern and South East Asia and these regions, along with Latin America and Caribbean, are expected to meet the target.
	More information and analysis of progress towards meeting the MDG 1 Hunger target and what the UK is doing to achieve this target is available in the "DFID Hunger Factsheet".

Overseas Aid

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of his Department's aid to  (a) Africa,  (b) Asia and  (c) the Americas was allocated to (i) agricultural support, (ii) education and (iii) health care in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: Details on the UK's bilateral expenditure are contained in the DFID publication "Statistics on International Development". This publication is available from in the Library and online at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	Relevant figures are produced in the following table.
	
		
			  Proportion of DFID bilateral expenditure to Africa, Asia and the Americas by broad sector, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Percentage 
			2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Africa Agriculture 0.6 1.0 1.1 
			  Education 11.7 15.9 15.5 
			  Health 17.5 18.3 20.0 
			  
			 Asia Agriculture 3.9 5.0 3.0 
			  Education 17.0 15.2 12.2 
			  Health 19.3 20.5 20.8 
			  
			 Americas Agriculture -1.2 3.4 1.9 
			  Education 5.0 16.9 5.6 
			  Health 9.5 6.6 9.4 
			  Note: Negative figures represent accounting adjustments, not a net flow to the UK.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to alleviate the humanitarian conditions of people in Gaza in the last 12 months.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) funds the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide schooling for 200,000 children in Gaza, and health care for the 70 per cent. of Gazans who are refugees. Our funding for the Palestinian Authority also helps support delivery of essential services in Gaza.
	Since December 2008 DFID pledged close to £47 million to assist with humanitarian relief and early recovery activities. Of this, nearly £7 million has already been allocated to non-governmental organisations. A further £12.8 million has been allocated to United Nations agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Throughout this period we have also consistently lobbied the Israeli Government on the need to improve access for humanitarian supplies and personnel into Gaza.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much  (a) financial aid and  (b) building material his Department has provided to Gaza since November 2008; and how much such building material has been delivered into Gaza to date.

Michael Foster: Following the Gaza conflict which started in December 2008, the Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged £46.8 million to assist with humanitarian relief and early recovery activities. £19.8 million has already, been allocated to United Nations (UN) agencies and non-governmental organisations. Since 2008, DFID has also funded the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide schooling to 200,000 children in Gaza and healthcare to the 70 per cent. of Gazans who are refugees. DFID also provides funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to deliver essential services in Gaza.
	DFID has not directly provided building materials in Gaza. However, a number of the projects we fund are helping to provide shelter, and rehabilitate schools and basic water infrastructure. Further details on these projects are available on the DFID website:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/News-Stories/2009/DFID-UK-funding-to-2009-Gaza-Crisis/
	We do not know exactly how much building material has been allowed into Gaza to date. Severe restrictions remain on the import of water and sanitation materials, cement and other reconstruction materials. Meaningful recovery and reconstruction of houses and infrastructure will be very difficult while these remain in place.

St. Helena: Overseas Aid

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the level of private funding for the island of St. Helena of the decision to delay the construction of an airport on the island.

Michael Foster: Our assessment of the effects on private sector investment following the pause in the negotiations on the St. Helena airport is that it is likely to be reduced in this financial year. This is because many current plans for investment by local businesses, which are modest in scale, have been put on hold pending a final decision following the consultation that is under way. In regard to foreign investment, the St. Helena Development Agency (SHDA) has received interest from five investors in a range of development projects, which are now on hold. The largest potential investor in the hotel resort sector has confirmed commitment to St. Helena while the prospect of air access remains.

St. Helena: Overseas Aid

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what assumptions the reference to increased uncertainties in respect of funding for the proposed airport in St. Helena in the St. Helena Air Access Consultation document was based; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The St. Helena Air Access Consultation Document refers to uncertainties about the assumptions underlying the airport investment. Examples given in paragraph 36 are: uncertainties about the possibility of cost escalation, due to currency fluctuation for example; and uncertainty over the speed with which benefits can build up, for example the rate and level at which tourism projections would materialise. The document also refers to the worsening global economic conditions and uncertainty over predictions as to how long the current situation will last.

St. Helena: Overseas Aid

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has he made of the change to the annual level of subsidy for the Island of St. Helena following the decision to defer a decision on the construction of an airport on the Island.

Michael Foster: The decision to pause negotiations on the St. Helena airport contract has not affected the level of DFID financial assistance for the island in the current planning cycle. The present three-year assistance package, which was negotiated with the Government of St. Helena (SHG) in 2007 remains unchanged. Our next assessment of the annual level of subsidy for St. Helena will be carried out jointly with SHG in early 2010. This will take into account the decision on the airport following the conclusion of the consultation now under way.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian assistance the Government has given to Darfur in the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 401W, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 849W.

World Bank: Health

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the World Bank in delivering successful outcomes through its health programmes since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The World Bank has a key role to play in supporting countries develop and sustain strong health systems. The World Bank's role in health was recently evaluated by the bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). We took a close interest in the evaluation and participated actively in discussions of the group's findings at the bank's board.
	The bank is committed to improving its performance in health. We believe that the bank's Health, Nutrition and Population Strategy, which was launched in 2007, sets the right direction and is already helping to address several of the weaknesses identified by IEG's evaluation. The bank recognises that it needs to improve performance and to ensure that it has the capacity it needs to play an effective role, especially in Africa.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Mentally Ill

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has issued guidance to NHS trusts on the treatment of mentally ill patients who attend accident and emergency departments in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: On 30 April 2004, a new checklist, "Improving the management of patients with mental ill health in emergency care settings", was published by the Department. A copy has been placed in the Library. The checklist is for accident and emergency staff to help them with their patients with mental health problems. The checklist outlines areas for action and includes examples of the ways in which some services are addressing some of these challenges.

Cancer

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer patients with each type of cancer there have been in each primary care trust area in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: Information on the numbers of patients living with cancer in each primary care trust (prevalence) is not held centrally. However, the number of new cases of cancer diagnosed in each year (incidence) since 1997 by Government Office Region can be viewed on the Office for National Statistics' website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=8843

Cancer: Health Services

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each primary care trust spent on cancer services for each type of cancer in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows an estimate of the gross expenditure on cancers and tumours by the national health service in England for all cancer and tumour types, for the last four available financial years. This information was first collected in 2003-04 and is not available for any previous years.
	
		
			  Estimated gross expenditure on cancer and tumours (all types) from 2003-04 to 2006-07 
			   Gross expenditure on cancers and tumours—all types (£) 
			 2003-04 3,385,750,000 
			 2004-05 3,773,203,000 
			 2005-06 4,302,656,000 
			 2006-07 4,352,460,000 
			  Source:  Department of Health Resource Accounts 
		
	
	A table showing the gross expenditure on cancer and tumours at sub-level for 2006-07, the first year that this data was collected at sub-category level for a number of cancer and tumour types, by each primary care trust (PCT), has been placed in the Library. This table shows expenditure on each PCT's own local population. The figures include primary prescribing but exclude general medical services and personal medical services expenditure and any prevention-related expenditure, such as screening.

Cardiovascular System: Medical Treatments

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the effects of the use of polypills combining statins and other medicines on levels of circulatory disease-related (i) deaths and (ii) disability in people over the age of 55 years; [R]
	(2)  whether his Department plans to make available to people over the age of 55 years a polypill combining statins with other medicines to reduce the risk of circulatory diseases. [R]

Ann Keen: The Department has not commissioned and evaluated the effects of the use of polypills. However, there are at least three phase I or II studies under way:
	At Imperial, Neil Poulter and Simone Thorn are already involved in a primary prevention trial of a Polypill (simvastatin 20 mg, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg, lisinopril 10 mg, aspirin 75mg) cost ~ 1 dollar/month. The collaboration is being led by Anthony Rodgers in Auckland and includes centres in Brazil, United States of America, the Netherlands, India, Australia, United Kingdom (our centre here at St. Mary's-Imperial) and New Zealand. The pill has been made by Dr. Reddy's which is a big generic pharmaceutical company in India. The project is supported by the Wellcome Trust, the New Zealand medical research council and by other local organisations in the participating countries (for us—the British Heart Foundation). The pilot phase has started-the first patient was evaluated here in London last week—this is a 12-week pilot to test tolerability, safety and efficacy. Towards the end of next year they hope to proceed to the main morbidity and mortality trial that will include five-7,000 patients over three-five years. The project is quite well summarised in a recent  Guardian article:
	www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/29/health.medicalresearch
	Dr. Rodgers has been working with Dr. Reddy since about 2000 and the technical problems of Galenic formulation for a four component cardiovascular Polypill (the Red Heart Pill) have been solved. This Polypill has been approved by several regulatory authorities (including the UK and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)—hence the primary prevention trial described above.
	The University of Birmingham and Tehran University of Medical Sciences have completed a randomised controlled trial of a four component polypill in approximately 500 men aged 50 to 79 and women aged 55 to 79. This is a pilot study, with the aim of starting a fully powered clinical trial if this is successful. The Polypill consists of aspirin, a statin, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and a thiazide diuretic. The aim is essentially to look at compliance and determine the effects of treatment on blood pressure and lipid concentrations. Recruitment began in 2006 in Golestan (northeast Iran), and follow-up was completed earlier this year. They proposed to submit for publication soon. This is led by Tom Marshall, senior lecturer in public health University of Birmingham, on behalf of Fatemeh Malekzadeh Akram Pourshams, Mina Gharravi, Afshin Aslani, Alireza Nateghi, Mansoor Rastegarpanah, Masoud Khoshnia, G. Neil Thomas, Bagher Larijani, Reza Malekzadeh, K. K. Cheng.
	Trial in Madrid, Spain—Secondary Prevention study—a three-component polypill, which comprises aspirin, a statin and an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (which helps lower blood pressure), for secondary prevention in patients who have already suffered an acute myocardial infarction. The project is a private-public venture with Ferrer-Internacional, which is a Spanish pharmaceutical company based in Barcelona with experience in the development and launching of international projects. The new formulation will be available in 2010.
	The Department has met the original Polypill authors on a number of occasions. The initial conclusions were that this type of approach would be more suitable in developing countries rather than in more sophisticated healthcare systems such as ours where tailored therapy is more the norm.
	The Department is currently exploring how to reassess this issue in the light of fresh interest in the topic.

Care Homes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes have transferred from local authority operation to private ownership in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: We are informed by the Care Quality Commission that the information requested is not collected.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when all colposcopy patients will be able to choose between local and general anaesthesia for their treatments;
	(2)  which NHS hospitals have sufficient facilities to treat all colposcopy patients receiving  (a) punch biopsy,  (b) large-loop excision of the transformation zone and  (c) other cervical treatments under local or general anaesthetic; and which such hospitals advertise both forms of anaesthesia in their patient literature.

Ann Keen: Data on the number and type of facilities within national health service hospitals providing colposcopy punch biopsy, large-loop excision of the transformation zone and other cervical treatments under local and general anaesthetic are not held centrally.
	The choice between the most appropriate types of anaesthesia to use for such procedures is a clinical one and should be reached following discussion between the patient and the clinician, taking into account the patient's wishes and which is the most clinically appropriate type of anaesthesia for the individual patient.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) BlackBerry devices and  (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not breakdown losses by the type of owner. While the BlackBerry is now the only supported personal digital assistant (PDA) the figures for PDAs, particularly in the early years include other makes like, Ipaq, Palm pilot, Psion etc.
	
		
			  PDA (including BlackBerry) and mobile phone losses April 2005 to March 2009 
			   Personal digital assistants  Mobile phones 
			 2005-06 4 11 
			 2006-07 5 18 
			 2007-08 9 21 
			 2008-09 22 18 
		
	
	Information contained on BlackBerry devices is protected by a strong password and can be remotely wiped once the loss has been reported. Mobile phones lost will contain contact details but are unlikely to contain more sensitive information.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on  (a) conference services and  (b) banqueting services in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Costs of conference and banqueting services are not easily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on conference and banqueting services has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Diabetes: Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the national clinical director for diabetes.

Ann Keen: Dr. Sue Roberts was appointed as the first national clinical director for diabetes in 2003. In 2008, Dr. Rowan Hillson was appointed to succeed her. The post of national clinical director has proved highly effective in promoting the implementation of the National Service Framework for Diabetes. The national clinical directors have provided expert advice to the Government on hospital and community services for diabetes and leadership for everybody in the national health service engaged in delivering and improving the quality of diabetes services.

General Practitioners: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Pre-Budget Report of November 2008, Cm7484, what progress has been made in allocating the £100 million capital spending to upgrade GP surgeries advanced to 2009-10.

Ben Bradshaw: The identification of suitable practices that require upgrading of accommodation to take additional general practitioner (GP) training places is under way. The initiative will involve close partnership working between strategic health authorities, their deanery GP directors and primary care trusts.

Health Professions: Locums

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the framework for the revalidation of health professionals will cover self-employed locums registered with the nine UK professional health regulators.

Ben Bradshaw: Revalidation will apply to all health professionals registered with the UK health professions regulators. This will include any registered, self-employed locums.

Health Professions: Locums

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what obligations there are on  (a) employers and  (b) patients to report concerns over the quality of services provided by self-employed locums working as (i) doctors, (ii) nurses, (iii) pharmacists, (iv) dentists and (v) other health professionals in the NHS;
	(2)  what guidance is provided to  (a) employers and  (b) patients on the reporting of concerns over the quality of services provided by self-employed locums working as (i) doctors, (ii) nurses, (iii) pharmacists, (iv) dentists and (v) other health professionals in the NHS.

Ben Bradshaw: Health care organisations should investigate all concerns about the quality of care given by a health care professional working for them, whether in a locum or substantive capacity. On 26 February 2009, the Department published "Listening, responding, improving: a guide to better customer care", aimed at health and social care staff involved in receiving feedback and resolving concerns and complaints. This is generic guidance to help local complaints managers to work with colleagues to make their organisations better at listening, responding and learning from people's experiences of care. Additionally, each national health service health care provider must make information available to the public regarding arrangements for dealing with complaints. The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is responsible for providing advice to agencies on complaints procedures and for monitoring complaints about agency workers.
	The Department's advice to employers "Handling Concerns about the Performance of Healthcare Professionals: Principles of Good Practice" was published in September 2006. This document sets out the principles for effective systems for handling performance concerns and outlines good practice for managing concerns about individuals. "High professional standards in the modern NHS"; a framework for the initial handling of concerns about doctors and dentists in the NHS, was issued in 2005 and applies to the NHS in England. It sets out the procedures to be followed when the quality of services provided are called into question. Similar guidance is also issued by individual regulatory bodies, which can be accessed from their websites. Copies of the publications referred to in the reply have been placed in the Library.
	Under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003, it is the duty of each NHS body to put and keep in place arrangements for the purpose of monitoring and improving the quality of health care provided by and for that body. The Government have taken additional powers through the Health and Social Care Act 2008 which will enable the introduction of new regulations intended to strengthening local clinical governance arrangements. This includes the introduction of responsible officers, who will have statutory responsibility for ensuring that there are robust systems in place to monitor the conduct and performance of all doctors, including those working as locums. Health care organisations and designated bodies will also be subject to a new duty of co-operation, which will ensure that concerns about health care workers are shared and acted upon, to protect patients and ensure quality of care. The new regulations will be accompanied with guidance for employers and patients. A public consultation on the regulations will be undertaken later this year.

Health Professions: Regulation

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made through the revalidation process in identifying the measures required to regulate  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses,  (c) pharmacists,  (d) dentists and  (e) other health professionals.

Ben Bradshaw: Following publication of the White Paper, "Trust, Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of health professionals in the 21(st) Century" in 2007, seven working groups were established to develop professional regulation reforms. Two groups worked on medical and non-medical revalidation. Both their reports have now been published and can be downloaded from the Department's website. Copies have been placed in the Library. The health care regulators are currently taking forward the proposals for revalidation.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_J386430
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_091111

Health Professions: Regulation

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account is taken of  (a) patient safety,  (b) public protection and  (c) standards of public service delivery in the framework for the revalidation of health professionals.

Ben Bradshaw: The process of revalidation for health professionals sits within the wider reforms to professional regulation as set out in the White Paper, "Trust, Assurance and Safety: The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21(st) Century".
	Revalidation is being built on the White Paper principles of public protection, patient safety and quality of care, with the recognition that revalidation is as much about sustaining, improving and assuring the professional standards of the overwhelming majority of health professionals as it is about identifying and addressing poor practice or bad behaviour.
	Revalidation will provide a positive affirmation that practitioners meet the standards of competence, ethics, conduct, and are up to date and fit to practise.

Health Services: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to improve medical services for  (a) children,  (b) older people,  (c) families,  (d) disabled people and  (e) people with diabetes in Coventry.

Ann Keen: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1077W.

Health Services: East of England

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the standard of out-of-hours primary care provision in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In September 2008 the independent regulator, the Healthcare Commission, published its review of Urgent and Emergency Care which rated the Peterborough primary care trust (PCT) area as 3 or "better performing" and the Cambridgeshire PCT area as 4 or "best performing", of which performance on out-of-hours services contributed around 25 per cent. to this score.
	More widely, the review found that the national health service has made significant progress on performance against the out-of-hours National Quality Requirements for the delivery of out-of-hours services compared to a similar survey carried out by the National Audit Office in 2005. In addition, the overall results of the review were positive, with 60 per cent. of PCTs scored as "better" or "best performing" and 82 per cent. rated as at least "fair performing".
	PCTs have a responsibility to ensure they provide, or secure provision of, a high quality, sustainable service for their local population. Where a provider is failing to meet the National Quality Requirements, PCTs, as commissioners of the service, and strategic health authorities must act to support out-of-hours providers to improve their performance. It is vital that if the local NHS has concerns about the quality of out-of-hours provision in its area, it takes urgent and robust action to improve services.

Health Services: Leyton

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided for  (a) Whipps Cross Hospital,  (b) primary care services and  (c) other health services in Leyton and Wanstead constituency in each of the last five years; what infrastructural changes have been made to health care facilities in the constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not available by constituency. Hospital and community health services, such as Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust, receive funding from primary care trusts (PCTs) largely through payment by results tariffs, primary care, the cost of drugs prescribed in primary care, and other services, such as public health, for their populations. The details are published in the trust's annual accounts, available from the trust itself.
	
		
			  Resource allocations to Redbridge PCT and Waltham Forest PCT 2004-05 to 2008-09 
			  £ million 
			   Redbridge PCT  Waltham Forest PCT 
			 2004-05 227.4 248.6 
			 2005-06 248.6 272.4 
			 2006-07 292.5 320.8 
			 2007-08 317.5 347.3 
			 2008-09 334.8 366.3 
			  Notes:  1. Allocations in 2004-05 to 2007-08 were made to the former 303 PCTs. The table shows estimates for the current configuration of 152 PCTs.  2. The scope of services covered by allocations has increased over time. In particular, before 2006-07 most primary medical services funding was not included in PCT allocations.

Hospital Wards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 510-11W, on hospital wards, if he will place in the Library a copy of the communications strategy produced in March 2009.

Ann Keen: The Department does not expect to place the communications strategy for the eliminating mixed sex accommodation programme of work in the Library. This is because the strategy (which is still evolving) plays a key role in the development and roll-out of policy relating to the elimination of mixed sex accommodation. Its placement in the Library would inhibit the free and frank discussions in which the Department needs to engage, in order that related policy options can be fully considered, and that its approach to the programme can be refined effectively.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 834-35W, on hospitals: infectious diseases, if he will make it his policy to conduct research into the effectiveness of patient-centred technologies in preventing healthcare associated infections.

Ann Keen: If patient-centred technologies are taken to mean products selected and provided by patients it is not our policy to conduct research into the effectiveness of patient-centred technologies as we are not aware of any evidence that these products offer advantages over materials supplied to patients by the national health service. Our strategy 'Clean Safe Care' draws together the measures required to control infections. Generally, normal soap and toiletries are adequate for patients' personal hygiene during their hospital stay. If decolonisation of a patient is necessary, hospitals will provide specialist soap and shampoo.
	However, the Department is continually investigating the potential impact new and novel technologies may have in preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs), including the development of prototypes of innovative designs for existing patient-centred hospital furniture and equipment, aimed at influencing patient and staff behaviour to help prevent HCAIs. The Department has established the HCAI technology innovation programme that provides support to emerging and established technologies.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to decide whether a product intended for use by the NHS will be reviewed by the Rapid Review Panel.

Ann Keen: It is the remit of the Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to review new and novel equipment, materials, and other products or protocols that may support the national health service in improving hospital infection control and reducing hospital acquired infections.
	Manufacturers may contact the RRP through the RRP website or may be directed to the panel through one of the Healthcare Associated Infection Technology Innovation Programme's product surgeries. Manufacturers or authorised distributors must submit their product for review to the RRP.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for Sheffield residents for admissions to hospital for treatment following GP referral  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available, by speciality.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. Referral to treatment data is only available from January 2007 onwards. The following table shows the median waiting times for completed patient pathways for admitted patients in the Sheffield Primary Care Trust area, from January 2007 to February 2009.
	
		
			  Treatment f unction  January 2007  February 2009 
			 General surgery 19.0 7.3 
			 Urology 17.8 8.8 
			 Trauma and orthopaedics 31.7 10.9 
			 Ear, nose and throat 32.0 9.0 
			 Ophthalmology 23.7 7.3 
			 Oral surgery 23.0 10.0 
			 Neurosurgery n/a 9.8 
			 Plastic surgery 16.8 8.0 
			 Cardiothoracic surgery n/a 8.8 
			 General medicine n/a n/a 
			 Gastroenterology 7.8 1.9 
			 Cardiology 16.0 8.8 
			 Dermatology 11.5 10.0 
			 Thoracic medicine n/a n/a 
			 Neurology n/a n/a 
			 Rheumatology n/a n/a 
			 Geriatric medicine n/a n/a 
			 Gynaecology 25.0 6.0 
			 Other 16.4 6.6 
			 Total 21.9 7.8 
			  Note: Where there were fewer than 20 completed pathways for the given treatment function, a median has not been calculated. These cells have been marked with a value of not applicable (n/a). Data for January 2007 are given on an unadjusted basis, whereas data for February are given on an adjusted basis.

Maternity Services: East of England

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the adequacy of maternity services in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) Cambridgeshire.

Ann Keen: It is for primary care trusts working with national health service trusts locally to decide how to configure maternity services.

Mental Health Services: Prisons

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is made for the care and treatment of prisoners with  (a) suspected and  (b) diagnosed mental health disorders.

Phil Hope: The responsibility for prison mental health care transferred fully to primary care trusts in 2006. All prison mental health services are now mainstreamed within the national health service, where the reception screening tool can assess quickly all prisoners with health concerns, including mental illness, and, where appropriate, refer them to mental health in-reach teams.
	NHS prison mental health services are provided through 102 in-reach teams, to which all prisons have access. Most mental health treatment and care is delivered in prison primary care settings, as is other NHS treatment (e.g. for prisoners with diabetes or heart disease) unless urgent treatment is needed, when prisoners can be transferred to secure NHS facilities outside of the prison service for treatment under the Mental Health Act.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will provide funding for ( a) voluntary and  (b) faith counselling services to support relatives of patients of Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust who have requested an independent review of case notes; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Counselling services will be offered to all those requesting an independent review of clinical records by the clinician leading the process.
	Individuals will be signposted to the counselling services most appropriate to their needs. Where there is demand, these will include services provided by the voluntary sector and specialist faith counselling services.
	All services will be provided by external counsellors at a location to suit the individual and will be funded by the trust.
	A written ministerial statement on Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was issued on 30 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 63-64WS, in response to the reports of the independent reviews undertaken by Professor Sir George Alberti and Dr. David Colin-Thomé.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether appointments have been made to the position of  (a) additional night matron and  (b) professional development nurse at Stafford Hospital in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Appointments to individual national health service organisations are a local matter.
	However, the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority has confirmed that the posts of night matron and professional development nurse at Stafford Hospital are being advertised in national nursing journals and on the NHS jobs website. The closing date for applications for the posts is 20 May 2009.
	A written ministerial statement on Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was issued on 30 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 63-64WS, in response to the reports of the independent reviews undertaken by Professor Sir George Alberti and Dr. David Colin-Thomé.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many temporary nurses have been recruited to work at Stafford Hospital pending substantive appointments by Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Appointments to individual national health service organisations, whether temporary or substantive, are a local matter.
	The West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has advised that the number of temporary nurses being used at Stafford Hospital fluctuates in line with the requirements of the Trust. The SHA has confirmed that at the start of week commencing 11 March 2009, 74 per cent. of the 39 shift vacancies had been filled by agency nurses, with arrangements in place by the end of the week to bring this up to 92 per cent. The Trust is going to a wide range of agencies to ensure all remaining shifts are taken up and continues working to recruit to all vacant posts permanently.
	A written ministerial statement on Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was issued on 30 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 63-64WS, in response to the reports of the independent reviews undertaken by Professor Sir George Alberti and Dr. David Colin-Thomé.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance his Department has issued to the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust on  (a) the implementation of the recommendations Lord Darzi's report, High Quality Care for All and  (b) the preparation of quality accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The implementation of High Quality Care for All (HQCfA) requires action at national, regional and local levels. Trusts have and will continue to receive a range of guidance on implementation of the report's recommendations. The operating framework for the NHS in England 2009-10 sets out the national priorities for the national health service, including the wide range of enablers to support the NHS in delivering HQCfA.
	Quality Accounts will be produced in 2010, subject to the successful passage of the current Health Bill. Quality reporting is being tested by NHS Foundation trusts and by providers in the East of England in 2009. Guidance on this has been issued jointly by Monitor, the Department, the Care Quality Commission and NHS East of England, and is available on Monitor's website.

NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2009,  Official Report, column 208W, on NHS treatment centres: private sector, by what mechanisms his Department assesses the comparative cost-effectiveness of independent sector treatment centres.

Ben Bradshaw: The mechanism used to assess the comparative cost-effectiveness of independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) is a Value for Money analysis performed during the procurement of all Wave One and Phase Two ISTC contracts.
	In evidence to the Health Select Committee in 2006, the Department stated that: Value for Money (VfM) in the ISTC programme comprises two key components: the cost of the programme compared to the "NHS equivalent cost"; and the value of the additional benefits brought by the IS programmes.

NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology his Department used to make the estimate that operations carried out by independent sector treatment centres cost on average 11 per cent. more than operations in NHS hospitals.

Ben Bradshaw: The figure of 11.2 per cent., provided in evidence by the Department to the Health Select Committee in 2006, was a calculation of the average premium for operational Wave One schemes derived by comparing contracted independent sector treatment centre provider prices against an estimated national health service equivalent cost.

NHS: Negligence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many completed cases have been brought against the NHS for incidents of negligence involving malnutrition and effects of hunger in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse.

Ann Keen: We cannot provide the information requested because the number of incidents by year may result in identification of a patient. However, the NHS Litigation Authority has provided the following table, which covers claims made against national health service trusts, NHS foundation trusts and primary care trusts across the period since 1997:
	
		
			  Number of settled claims where the claim was made between 1997 and 2009 and where one of the injuries is recorded as malnutrition as at 30 April 2009 
			   Settled—nil damages  Settled with damages 
			 Number of claims 1 5 
			 Damages paid — 118,019 
			 Defence costs paid — 29,019 
			 Claimant costs paid — 101,200 
			 Total paid — 248,237 
			  Note:  The damages paid for these claims may include damages for other injuries within the claim, and not just damages for malnutrition.

NHS: Public Participation

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent additional financial support his Department has provided to Staffordshire local involvement network (LINk); whether his Department has plans for a national publicity campaign to promote awareness of LINks; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department has no current plans to allocate additional funding to Staffordshire local involvement network (LINk) although we are working to help the responsible local organisations to provide support for the LINk that is consistent with local authorities' duties in relation to LINks.
	A written ministerial statement was issued on Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust on 30 April in response to the reports of the independent reviews undertaken by Professor Sir George Alberti and Dr. David Colin-Thomé. The statement sets out a commitment to give extra support to all LINks including a 'how to be heard' guide for the public, and a national publicity campaign to promote awareness of the role of LINks in influencing local decision making around national health service services.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what protocol governs the employment of foreign nationals by strategic health authorities and primary care trusts.

Ann Keen: "The Code of Practice for the International recruitment of healthcare professionals" (2004) is available to view on the Department's website and a copy has been placed in the Library. NHS Employers are responsible for the implementation of the code of practice and managing the list of commercial agencies that adhere to the code.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions has he had with the Home Department on residency arrangements for foreign-born nurses.

Ann Keen: The Department continues to work closely with the UK Border Agency to ensure that a suitable route is available to allow international nurses to work in the United Kingdom when a suitable UK or European economic area candidate cannot be found.

Nurses: Foreign Workers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidelines his Department has issued to  (a) strategic health authorities and  (b) primary care trusts on their employment of foreign nationals as nurses.

Ann Keen: NHS Employers is responsible for promotion, advice and guidance on international recruitment.

Palliative Care: Children

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses working in the NHS are trained in the care of children on long-term ventilation.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information on the number of nurses trained in the care of children on long-term ventilation. The skills required within local services and the accompanying training is a matter for NHS organisations.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 741W, on apprentices, how many people undertaking apprenticeship training as part of the Government Skills National Apprenticeship Pathfinder Scheme in 2008-09 are  (a) new employees hired as apprentices and  (b) existing employees converting to apprenticeships.

Si�n Simon: The Government Skills National Apprenticeship Pathfinder scheme brought 16 Government Departments together to increase the numbers of apprenticeships in the civil service starting in 2008-09. The original target of 500 apprenticeship starts has been more than doubled, with 1,395 starts to the period ending 31 March 2009.
	Civil servant numbers have declined since 2004, so the Pathfinder scheme was designed to primarily focus on offering high quality apprenticeships to existing members of staff. It is a standard route for apprentices to be in a job before they begin their apprenticeship, in both the public and private sector. For 2008-09 the number of apprentices entering the Pathfinder scheme at the point of recruitment has been 30.
	Many of those undertaking apprenticeships work in operational delivery roles in the Department for Work and Pensions, the UK Border Agency, HM Revenue and Customs, the Driving Standards Agency and the Ministry of Justice.
	Government Skills is now working with Departments to help embed apprenticeships in their recruitment processes.

Basic Skills

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many Learning and Skills Council-funded adult learners aged over 16 years were eligible for inclusion in statistics used to measure progress against the Skills for Life Public Service Agreement target in  (a) 2002-03,  (b) 2003-04,  (c) 2004-05,  (d) 2005-06 and  (e) 2006-07.

Si�n Simon: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1015W.

Building Colleges for the Future Programme: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many colleges in Greater London are awaiting a decision on an application for approval of schemes under the Building Colleges for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for further education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the LSC acting chief executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the Libraries.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff employed in London on work contracted out by his Department earn less than 7.45 per hour.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 13 May 2009
	None. Contracts for facilities management at Kingsgate House in London are a matter for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which manages the building.

Employment Tribunals Service

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many actions under employment law were brought against the Department in each of the last three years, broken down by category of action; and how many were contested by the Department at an employment tribunal.

Si�n Simon: The Department was created in June 2007. There have been no cases brought against the Department since it was established.

Rotherham College of Arts and Technology

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills by what date he expects Rotherham College of Arts and Technology to have been allocated funding for its building programme.

Si�n Simon: Capital funding for Further Education colleges is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). As the information requested is with regard to an operational matter for the Council, I have asked Geoffrey Russell, the acting LSC Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member with the further information requested. A copy of his letter will be placed in the Libraries.

Training: Ministerial Policy Advisers

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what training courses funded from the public purse are available to special advisers.

Si�n Simon: Special advisers are temporary civil servants appointed under Article 3 of the Civil Service Order in Council 1995, and are allowed the same training opportunities open to permanent civil servants, if there was a sufficient business case. As with all of their work, special advisers should not use official resources for party political activity. This would also include any training that they were allocated.
	All training courses undertaken by the special advisers are linked to the Professional Skills for Government agenda and the Department's business and improvement objectives.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was received by the Exchequer in right to buy social housing receipts in each year since 1997; and what use was made of the receipts in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1118W.

Departmental Offices

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the address is of each site at which offices of her Department and its agencies are co-located with offices of the Homes and Communities Agency; and whether any further such co-location is planned.

Margaret Beckett: The following table identifies existing co-locations between the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Government Office Network (GON). The table also identifies where my Department and the HCA, in conjunction with GON colleagues, have identified the following buildings already within the CLG group estate where further co-locations would bring potential operational efficiencies.
	
		
			  Region  Building  Comments 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Government office,  2nd floor, Lateral House,  8 City Walk, Leeds Existing co-location with Government office 
			 West Midlands Government office,  5 St. Philips Place, Colmore Row, Birmingham Co-location with Government office in progress 
			 East Midlands Government office, The Belgrave Centre, Talbot Street, Nottingham Existing co-location with Government office 
			 South West Government office,  1st floor, Aztec Centre, Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol Co-location with Government office staff being considered 
			 North West Government office,  4th floor, 1 Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester Co-location with Government office staff being considered 
		
	
	While not strictly a co-location, the East of England HCA are proposing to occupy surplus Government office accommodation, which again makes efficient use of the CLG group estate.

Departmental Offices

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether her Department and its agencies have received recent representations from representatives of the Homes and Communities Agency on the co-location of staff;
	(2)  whether recent discussions have taken place between her Department and its agencies and representatives of the Homes and Communities Agency on the availability of office space leased or owned by her Department.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions officials in her Department have had with the Homes and Communities Agency on the future location of its offices.

Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) property team actively participate in the quarterly Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) Property Asset Management (PAM) Board meetings. The last PAM Board meeting took place on 21 April 2009. The Department's PAM policies can be accessed through the following link:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/assetmanagementplan
	In addition to the PAM process, as a consequence of the creation of the new non-departmental public body, officials from my Department have been meeting with representatives of the HCA to discuss estate and property matters on a monthly basis. There is an ongoing dialogue between officials from my department and the HCA on estates matters.

Eco-towns

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of each full assessment from which her Department's eco-towns assessment summaries published in June 2008 were made.

Margaret Beckett: Given the nature of the eco-towns assessment summaries there is not a full assessment document of each location that I am able to place in the House Library. The assessment summaries were working documents intended to give feedback to promoters where schemes were not selected for shortlisting. They identified in outline from a range of source material at that time, the issues arising from the initial scrutiny of the eco-town proposals.

Eco-towns

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 471W, on eco-towns, which external advisers conducted the eco-towns Financial Viability Study; and at what cost to the public purse.

Margaret Beckett: The assessments undertaken in the Financial Viability Study of the Eco-towns Programme were carried out by a team led by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). The team included: DTZ; Buro Happold; Davis Langdon: and DentonWildeSapte. Further details about the work carried out and our external advisors are set out in section 1.3 and Appendix A of the Study, which is available on my Department's website.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/1165892.pdf
	As set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, column 471W, we have spent 720,800 on stage one of this contract, and are in the process of completing stage two.

Eco-towns

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of the proposed eco-towns could be established without public funding.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the Financial Viability Study of the Eco-towns Programme (March 2009), which is available on the Department's website and provides an initial high level assessment of whether an eco-town could be economically viable in the locations that we have shortlisted. This includes conclusions on the outline financial assessment and whether the proposal has the potential to generate sufficient value to cover the direct and indirect costs of delivering the scheme without recourse to public subsidy beyond existing public sector funding sources:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/financialviabilitystudy
	Later in the year, following our consideration of the consultation responses and further assessment work, including the Financial Viability Study, I will announce which locations we are satisfied have the potential to be an eco-town. Individual schemes will then need to submit planning applications, which will be for local authorities to determine through the local planning process.

Emergency Calls

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps her Department plans to take to enable deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired people to make effective use of the 999/112 emergency numbers for the fire and rescue service;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to enable deaf and hard of hearing and speech-impaired people to communicate with the fire and rescue service using the short message text service.

Sadiq Khan: The FiReControl Project is part of the Government's fire and rescue service modernisation agenda. Once implemented, it will provide the emergency call handling and mobilising function for the fire and rescue service in England.
	Local arrangements exist for some fire services to receive emergency call via text message. Under the current planning assumptions, regional control centres will have access to existing local services until such a time as they are replaced by a national equivalent.
	We are in the final stages of completing a comprehensive equality impact assessment which considers the implications for those who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. We aim to publish this assessment shortly.

Empty Homes Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding the Empty Homes Agency will receive from  (a) her Department and  (b) the Homes and Communities Agency in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Margaret Beckett: The Department is not providing any direct funding to the Empty Homes Agency in the period 2009-12.
	Decisions on allocations for the next three years will be made as part of the HCA's Corporate Planning process.

Empty Property: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty dwellings there are in the South West region, broken down by local authority area.

Iain Wright: Details of the number of empty dwellings in each local authority area in the South West region are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of empty dwellings 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,881 
			 Bournemouth 3,538 
			 Bristol 5,217 
			 Caradon 1,588 
			 Carrick 1,604 
			 Cheltenham 2,072 
			 Christchurch 722 
			 Cotswold 839 
			 East Devon 1,908 
			 East Dorset 890 
			 Exeter 783 
			 Forest of Dean 1,170 
			 Gloucester 1,881 
			 Isles of Scilly 6 
			 Kennet 1,047 
			 Kerrier 1,597 
			 Mendip 1,354 
			 Mid Devon 989 
			 North Cornwall 1,746 
			 North Devon 1,312 
			 North Dorset 896 
			 North Somerset 2,241 
			 North Wiltshire 1,542 
			 Penwith 1,084 
			 Plymouth 2,967 
			 Poole 2,098 
			 Purbeck 412 
			 Restormel 1,393 
			 Salisbury 933 
			 Sedgemoor 1,575 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,289 
			 South Hams 1,392 
			 South Somerset 2,410 
			 Stroud 1,342 
			 Swindon 1,714 
			 Taunton Deane 1,431 
			 Teignbridge 1,948 
			 Tewkesbury 1,137 
			 Torbay 3,293 
			 Torridge 1,033 
			 West Devon 875 
			 West Dorset 1,244 
			 West Somerset 570 
			 West Wiltshire 1,489 
			 Weymouth and Portland 820 
			 Total South West 70,272 
		
	
	The data are as 6 October 2008 and are as reported to Communities and Local Government by all billing authorities in England on their annual Council Taxbase (CTB) and CTB (Supplementary) returns.

Energy Performance Certificates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons an energy performance certificate purchased by a residential landlord to show to rental tenants may not subsequently be incorporated into a home information pack should the landlord wish to market his property for sale.

Margaret Beckett: An energy performance certificate purchased by a residential landlord for rental purposes may be used in a home information pack for a property sale, provided it is less than three years old at the first point of marketing.

Fire Services: Medals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the merits of providing funding for the award of fire service veterans badges; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Department has no plans to provide or fund a veterans badge for fire fighters. Some members of the National Fire services may be eligible for the Defence Medal. I understand that the British Fire Services Association designed and issued a lapel badge for veterans in the fire service. These are not funded by this Department.

First Time Buyers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 136-37W, on housing: sales, how many homes she expects to be sold under the First-Time Buyers Initiative in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010.

Iain Wright: The First Time Buyers' initiative is a demand led programme and therefore we have not made an estimate.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect on the availability of local search information provided for home information packs of recent unitary local government restructuring.

Margaret Beckett: No such specific assessment has been made. However, we understand from information collected by the Department that the nine new unitary authorities are providing access to property search information following the implementation of the Local Authorities (England) (Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to review the operation, cost and effectiveness of the home information pack scheme.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1989W.

Homes and Communities Agency

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what  (a) studies and  (b) reviews the Homes and Communities Agency and its predecessors commissioned, in which it engaged the services of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much  (a) the Homes and Communities Agency and  (b) its predecessors have paid to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in each of the last five years; how much she has allocated in each of the next three years; and what services have been received from CABE.

Margaret Beckett: The predecessor bodies for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) were English Partnerships (EP), the investment arm of the Housing Corporation (HC), and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. A range of departmental programmes also transferred to the Agency from Communities and Local Government.
	The Academy, EP, HC and now the HCA have all worked with the Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). The detail of all engagement, including studies and reviews and money paid to CABE in the last five years is given as follows:
	The HCA has paid 134,590.64 to the Commission on Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for the following services since 1 December, 2008:
	Delivery of the HCA Academy's 'Space Leaders' programme.
	Work with growth locations to raise awareness about the value of design, and to help embed Building for Life standards within local planning policy documents.
	CABE have a Memorandum of Understanding with ATLAS, the HCA's specialist advisory service.
	English Partnerships paid CABE, 56,547.68 in 2004/05; 55,000 in 2005-06; 25,000 in 2006-07 and 25,000 in 2007-08 for the following services:
	Together with the Housing Corporation, EP co-sponsored European International Design Competition, which CABE manage within the UK.
	Work on the production of the Design Codes publication
	Partnership working on initiatives such as Building for Life (BfL).
	Sitting on the final assessment panel for Design for Manufacture, and the steering group for Urban Design Compendium.
	Design reviews for a number of what were EP's direct and indirect projects such as Northstowe, Frickley and Corby station.
	Production of the Allerton Bywater Design Code.
	Contribution to 'Enquiry by Design' event for Whitefields borough council.
	The Housing Corporation paid CABE(1), 40,000 in 2004-05; 80,750 in 2005-06; 113,218.50 in 2006-07; 53,828.75 in 2007-08 and 55,106.25 in 2008-09 for the following services:
	(1) These payments include remunerations for both investment and regulatory work and therefore do not wholly reflect work now undertaken by the HCA.
	 2006-07
	Provision of practical training to Housing Corporation and RSL staff throughout England.
	Dissemination of best practice in the housing sector through the BfL Newsletter
	Contribution to the work of the Housing Corporation Commission on Affordable Housing in the Thames Gateway.
	 2007-08
	Setting up and running of a series of Focus group meetings with RSLs;
	Dissemination of best practice through the BfL Newsletter
	Contribution to the development of new Best Practice Guidance.
	Europan 9 (see entry for EP above).
	Project management of Affordable Housing Survey.
	The Academy for Sustainable Communities paid CABE, 30,000 in 2006-07 and 15,000 in 2007-08 for the following services:
	Delivery of 'Space Leaders' programme.
	There is no overall allocation of funds for CABE within the HCA's planning. CABE's services may be used to provide design advice across the full range of the HCA's programmes over the next three years.

Homes and Communities Agency: Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1505W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, on which projects the Homes and Communities Agency spent 54,000 on branding, broken down by category of expenditure.

Margaret Beckett: 54,000 was spent on the development of the HCA brand, delivered through the Central Office of Information.
	The expenditure can be broken down as follows:
	
		
			   000 
			 Stationery design for HCA and Milton Keynes Partnership 23 
			 Brand guidelines development and CD production 20 
			 Regional factsheet template 3 
			 HCA brand induction flyer for staff 3 
			 Design and production of HCA cardboard folders 5 
			 Total(1) 54 
			 (1) All costs exclude VAT.

Homes and Communities Agency: Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 2 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1505W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, on what categories of stationery items  (a) the Homes and Communities Agency spent 99,000 and  (b) the Tenant Services Authority spent 17,000.

Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority's accounting systems cannot disaggregate expenditure by various categories of stationery item.
	This information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when she expects the Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process to  (a) complete its work and  (b) publish its report;
	(2)  on what dates phase  (a) 1,  (b) 2,  (c) 3 and  (d) 4 of the Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process was completed; what assessment she has made of the group's progress; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what phase of its work the Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process has reached; and on what date she expects it to complete this phase.

Margaret Beckett: The work of the Working Group on Condition Information in Home Buying and Selling process is ongoing and is due to report in September 2009. A copy of the final report will be placed in the Library of the House.

Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates the Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process has met since its inception; where each meeting took place; which  (a) Ministers,  (b) senior civil servants and  (c) other parties were present at each such meeting; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting.

Margaret Beckett: The Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process has met twice. The meetings took place on 4 March 2009 and 23 March 2009 in Eland House. No Ministers attended the meetings which were chaired by the Deputy Director of Sustainable Buildings and Climate Change Directorate. This work is ongoing and publication of the minutes could restrict the contribution of working group members to those discussions and limit their input. We will not therefore be publishing the minutes. My reply to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) 6 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 240-41W, dealt with the membership of the working group.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what housing revenue account pooling rate applies to the disposal of  (a) dwellings and  (b) land assets.

Iain Wright: After taking into account costs such as administration incidental to the disposal and improvements to the asset in the three years before the disposal, local authorities are required to pool 75 per cent. of receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings and 50 per cent. of receipts arising from the disposal of other housing assets. However, housing receipts arising from sales that are neither right to buy nor to any owner-occupier can be retained by local authorities provided they are used for affordable housing or regeneration projects. Furthermore, we have consulted on provisions which will effectively allow authorities to retain all RTB receipts, provided they are used for the same purposes, if they arise from newly-built or newly-acquired dwellings.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at what rate local authorities are expected to include capital receipts relating to easements in their pooling amounts for their housing revenue accounts.

Iain Wright: Local authorities are required to pool receipts arising from the disposal of easements over land held in their housing revenue accounts, where such a disposal constitutes the disposal of an interest in housing land as defined in regulation 12(1)(a) of the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/3146 (as amended)). Whether it is a disposal that falls within the regulations is a matter for the local authority to determine, subject to the scrutiny of its auditor. If the authority considers that the easement is an interest in housing land, then the receipt is poolable at a rate of 75 per cent. if the easement is over land that constitutes a dwelling. If the easement is over any other housing asset, then the receipt is poolable at 50 per cent.
	In certain circumstances, it might be possible for an authority to retain all the receipt, provided the local authority uses the receipt for affordable housing or regeneration projects.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) her Department and  (b) the Homes and Communities Agency spent on the Affordable Housing Survey in each of the last three years; and how much she has allocated for expenditure on future such surveys.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 5 May 2009
	 Responsibility for the Affordable Housing Survey rests with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and as such, no funding was specifically allocated for the Affordable Housing Survey by my Department in the last three years, nor has any been specifically allocated for the next three.
	The HCA, and previously the Housing Corporation, spent 25,000 in 2007-08 and 135,000 in 2008-09 on producing the Affordable Housing Survey. Nothing was spent on the survey in 2006-07. Decisions on allocations for the next three years will be made as apart of the agency's corporate planning process, which is currently under way.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent on publicising each HomeBuy scheme in each of the last three years; and what promotional activities such expenditure funded.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 68W.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties have been sold under the Homebuy scheme in each of the last five years.

Margaret Beckett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1282W, to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather).
	The following table shows the provisional figures of homes provided under each of the HomeBuy schemes in 2008-09 through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Housing Programme.
	
		
			   P rovisiona l figure 
			 Open Market HomeBuy 6,216 
			 New Build HomeBuy 10,647 
			 Social HomeBuy 99 
			 Rent to HomeBuy 1,173 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System 
		
	
	Provisional figures indicate that there have been no homes completed under the HomeBuy Direct scheme in 2008-09.

Housing: Low Incomes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing units have been  (a) bought and  (b) sold in (i) Essex and (ii) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of units acquired for social rent by local authorities and registered social landlords in Essex and Castle Point in each of the last five years for which data are available.
	
		
			  Units acquired for social rent 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Essex 40 40 0 10 40 
			 Castle Point 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Source: Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and local authority returns to CLG. Figures have been rounded to nearest 10 units. 
		
	
	Total social rented housing is provided by new build completions, as well as acquisitions. For example, in 2007-08, a total of 10 additional social rented homes were provided in Castle Point (through both new build and acquisitions), and 880 additional social rented homes were provided in Essex (new build and acquisitions).
	The following table shows the number of social housing units sold by local authorities and registered social landlords in Essex and Castle Point in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Units sold 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Essex 1,040 700 420 500 510 
			 Castle Point 20 10 10 10 10 
			  Source: Regulatory and Statistical Returns (RSR) from Registered Social Landlords to the Tenant Services Authority (TSA), Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and PIB returns to CLG from local authorities. Figures have been rounded to nearest 10 units.

Housing: Low Incomes

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of shared ownership properties vacant at the latest date for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The number of unsold housing association shared ownership properties for the period of January to March 2009 was 8,742. This is down 16 per cent. from the previous quarter where the figure was 10,359. As with all home purchases, transactions can take between three to six months to complete. The total number of homes unsold for more than six months dropped from 4,629 last quarter to 3,771, down 19 per cent.

Housing: Sales

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average income of first-time buyers taking part in the First-Time Buyers initiative has been in each year since the scheme's inception.

Margaret Beckett: The following table shows the average household income of purchasers through the First Time Buyers initiative for each year since the scheme's inception.
	
		
			   Average household income () 
			 2006 33,000 
			 2007 29,213 
			 2008 26,838 
			 2009(1) 25,450 
			 (1) Figures for 2009 only available until end of February 2009.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes with a sustainability code rating of  (a) one star,  (b) two stars,  (c) three stars,  (d) four stars,  (e) five stars and  (f) six stars have been completed in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 11-12MC.

Industrial Health and Safety

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor spent on compliance with requirements of health and safety at work legislation in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors have not specifically recorded expenditure incurred in maintaining ongoing compliance with health and safety at work legislation.
	To disaggregate such costs would incur a disproportionate cost.

Land Use: Public Sector

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of minutes of each meeting of the surplus public sector land strategy group in the last 12 months.

Iain Wright: The Surplus Public Sector Land Strategy Group was a short-life group established to provide strategic guidance on the surplus public sector land programme. The Strategy Group met four times and considered commercially sensitive material and advised on the formulation and development of Government policy. On that basis we do not think it appropriate to place the minutes in the Library.

Local Development Frameworks

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department holds on local development schemes established by each local planning authority.

Iain Wright: Local Development Schemes are individual local planning authority timetables for producing core strategy and other development plan documents for its area, agreed with the Secretary of State through the Regional Government Office. The Department holds a record of Local Development Scheme timetables on a database and they are published on the Planning Portal website:
	http://ldsdatabase.planningportal.gov.uk/ldfsearch.aspx

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 4 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1293W, on mortgages: Government assistance, what criteria her Department uses to define an ordinary hard-working household.

Margaret Beckett: The eligibility criteria for Homeowners Mortgage Support are designed to ensure that this scheme helps hard-working households who are having difficulties with their mortgage repayments to avoid the threat of repossession.
	The eligibility criteria include households demonstrating that they have had a temporary loss of income from employment or self-employment of a scale which affects the household's ability to make full mortgage payments, but which is not expected to be a permanent loss of income. Households must also have no savings in excess of 16,000. Full eligibility criteria are available at
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Keepingyourhomeevictionsandhomelessness/Mortgagesandrepossessions/DG_177639

Mortgages: Government Assistance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many housing associations are yet to receive Government funding in respect of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

Margaret Beckett: The Government's Mortgage Rescue Scheme has been operational since 1 January, supported by a network of 23 registered social landlord (RSL) mortgage rescue providers covering every local authority area in England. Further RSLs who wish to offer the scheme are being encouraged to do so in partnership with the lead provider for the area.
	Under the scheme's financial framework there is absolute flexibility to direct the available resources to those areas with the greatest demand. This will be kept under review. Funding is drawn down once a rescue is complete and the RSL provider has submitted a grant claim to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many eligible applications have been received under the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme.

Margaret Beckett: The scheme opened with the first group of lenders on 21 April. Borrowers apply to the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme through their lender. Before being admitted to the scheme, they need to take money advice. We have worked with the participating lenders to produce a proportionate reporting system. This will provide statistics which will be published on a regular basis.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 139W, on mortgages: government assistance 
	(1)  what the terms of a typical loan offered under the Repossession and Eviction Prevention Fund will be; and by what date she expects the first household to be in receipt of such a loan;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to publicise the Repossession and Eviction Prevention Fund; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  by what date she expects local authorities to be able to apply for funding under the Repossession and Eviction Prevention Fund.

Margaret Beckett: The Department will write shortly to all local authorities setting out further details about use of the Repossession and Eviction Prevention Fund. The funding, which is administered through the Homelessness Revenue Grant Programme, under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, will be allocated to local authorities in June so that it is available to provide help to households as quickly as possible. Our advice to local authorities will set out that loans from the fund should not exceed a value of 5,000 per household and interest will not be charged. Information about the fund will be added to the range of support available to households and publicised for example through the DirectGov website.

Planning: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department plans to provide for work to be carried out by Building Design Partnership Ltd on a master plan for Canvey Island town centre; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency, funded by my Department, has approved a grant of 100,000 to Castle Point borough council over a two year period for a master planning project for Canvey Town Centre. Building Design Partnership Ltd has won a tender to carry out the work on their behalf.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, column 143W, on rented housing, what estimate she has made of the number of  (a) registered social landlords and  (b) local authority homes built since the data in Table 1 was compiled; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 March 2009,  Official Report, column 724W.

Repossession Orders

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of properties being purchased with a buy-to-let mortgage that have been repossessed in each of the last 10 quarters.

Margaret Beckett: The number of buy-to-let mortgage repossessions in the UK are published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The following table shows the number of buy-to-let mortgage repossessions in each of the last 10 quarters as published by the CML.
	
		
			  Number of buy-to-let mortgage repossessions, UK 
			Number 
			 2006 Q3 200 
			  Q4 400 
			
			 2007 Q1 400 
			  Q2 500 
			  Q3 500 
			  Q4 600 
			
			 2008 Q1 900 
			  Q2 900 
			  Q3 1,000 
			  Q4 1,300 
			  Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Shared Ownership Schemes: Mortgages

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of high street mortgage lenders which do not offer mortgage terms to buyers purchasing under shared ownership schemes.

Iain Wright: There are 17 lenders currently willing to offer mortgages under shared ownership schemes, an increase from 14 lenders in February 2009. The Government continue to work with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and individual lenders to encourage lender participation.

Social Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the market value of homes owned by registered social landlords in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1113W.

Social Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties previously available for social rent from registered social landlords were sold in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: A table showing the number of registered social landlord (RSL) properties sold in each local authority area in each year from 2001-02 to 2007-08 has been placed in the House Library.
	These figures are taken from returns made by RSLs through the regulatory and statistical returns (RSR) to the Tenant Services Authority. The figures show RSL sales under the following schemes; right to buy, preserved right to buy, right to acquire, voluntary purchase grant, social homebuy and other shared equity homebuy schemes. It also includes other shared ownership sales (such as new build and open market homebuy), including sales of initial shares. Sales to other RSLs, and sales to the private sector for non-social housing use, cannot be broken down to LA level, but are included in the England total.
	These figures are not available from RSR returns before 2001-02.

Tenant Services Authority: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the administration costs of the  (a) Tenant Services Authority and  (b) Homes and Communities Agency in each of the next three years; and what percentage of each organisation's estimated (i) income and (ii) grant in aid these sums represent in each such year.

Margaret Beckett: Decisions on allocations for the next three years will be made as part of the corporate planning process for both organisations.

Tenant Services Authority: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Tenants Services Authority has commissioned any  (a) public affairs and  (b) public relations companies since its creation to date; and at what cost to the public purse.

Margaret Beckett: The TSA have commissioned the following to date:
	Public Affairs consultancyAPCO: 1,200
	Public RelationsEngage: 33,000.

Unitary Councils: Pay

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to publish details of the remuneration and redundancy packages for senior local authority staff arising from the recent unitary restructuring.

John Healey: Disclosure in each council's statement of accounts of the number of its staff whose remuneration (i.e. all amounts paid to or receivable by an employee) is in the band 50,000-59,999, and the number in each subsequent 10,000 band, is currently required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003.
	In the recent local government reorganisation, the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Further Transitional and Supplementary Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2009 require the 2008-09 accounts for those abolished councils to be finalised, and the annual statement of accounts to be published, by the relevant new unitary council. These accounts and the accompanying documentation, as for that of all local authorities, must be open for inspection by local electors for the area for 20 working days as part of the audit procedures, and the statement of accounts for the year must be published by the end of September.
	The Department is currently consulting on proposals to amend the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 to improve transparency of reporting of remuneration of senior officers in public bodies. Further information is available at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/publications/consultations/

Zero Carbon Hub

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the business plan for the Zero Carbon Hub.

Iain Wright: The Zero Carbon Hub's final business plan for 2008-09 to 2009-10 has been made available on the zero carbon hub's website:
	www.zerocarbonhub.org

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies: Sponsorship

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academy sponsors have withdrawn from the academy process  (a) before and  (b) after signing an expression of interest.

Jim Knight: holding answer 13 May 2009
	 A sponsor's legal commitment to an academy project (as a member of the academy trust) occurs when a funding agreement is signed. Since the first academies opened in 2002, one lead sponsor (Chelsfield) and two co-sponsors (Intercity and Toc H) have withdrawn after signing funding agreements, but before the academies opened.
	Records of academy sponsors that have withdrawn before and after signing an expression of interest, but before signing a legally binding funding agreement, are kept in individual project records and are not held centrally.

Children and Young People's Services Ministerial Group

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what mechanism exists for non-ministerial representation on the ministerial sub-group of the Cabinet sub-committee on children, young people and families in place of Ministers.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A sub-set of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Families, Children and Young People, chaired by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and including the Secretaries of State from the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice will meet with Sir Roger Singleton, Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children, quarterly. Officials and experts may also be invited to attend this group to provide expert advice from time to time.

Children: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of registered child minders were  (a) male and  (b) female in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information about the numbers and proportions of male and female staff in the child care and early years providers workforce. Table 1 shows the numbers of childminders that were male and female in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Data on numbers of childminders of each sex are not available prior to 2005, although the data on the proportions are available for 2003. Table 2 shows the proportions of childminders that were male and female in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. No data are available on proportions or numbers prior to 2003.
	
		
			  Table 1: Numbers of male and female childminders in the child care and early years providers workforce 
			   Male  Female 
			 2005 1,000 56,700 
			 2006 1,200 56,700 
			 2007 600 59,200 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportions of male and female childminders in the child care and early years providers workforce 
			  Percentage 
			   Male  Female 
			 2003 1 99 
			 2005 2 98 
			 2006 2 98 
			 2007 1 99

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether staff of his Department made any representations in respect of Lord Laming's most recent report on safeguarding prior to its publication; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: As is common practice, officials in this Department were kept informed about the development of Lord Laming's independent report and were given the opportunity to comment at key stages. We ensured that Lord Laming received the resources and support that he needed to complete his report which was independent and is based on the evidence provided to him from a wide range of sources.

Departmental ICT

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many and what proportion of computers in his Department malware was detected in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: During 2008, 28,890 computer viruses were detected and blocked from a total of 4,600 DCSF computers. It is not possible to specify the number of computers affected, as the same computer could have been infected several times during the same year.

Integrated Children's System

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what timetable he has set for completion of the feasibility study on a revised Integrated Children's System.

Beverley Hughes: Lord Laming has recommended that the Department should complete such a study within six months of his progress report in March, and the Government have accepted this recommendation. In addition, the Social Work Task Force has already made a series of recommendations which, it believes, will improve frontline workers' experience of ICS. The Government have accepted the Task Force's advice in this area, and work to put this into effect will start without delay.
	The Task Force will report fully to the Government in October and we are committed to bringing forward a comprehensive programme of reform for the profession at that time.

Schools: ICT

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of computers in  (a) local authority children's services departments,  (b) Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service and  (c) schools were found to be infected with malware in 2008.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number or proportion of computers infected with malware is not collected centrally from either local authority children's services or from schools. However many schools do employ a managed service for their ICT support and those organisations will normally maintain this information and report to schools.
	The Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (CAFCASS) computer network is supported by an outsourced IT service provider who do not routinely capture this information. However, the CAFCASS network and equipment is protected by anti-virus software and firewalls that prevent unauthorised access, so the potential for a malware infection is low. CAFCASS have no record of any infection by malware in 2008.

Schools: Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions he and his predecessors have intervened in a school which is in special measures in each of the last five years; and what the name of each such school was.

Jim Knight: holding answer 13 May2009
	 The Secretary of State has reserve intervention powers for schools in special measures which are currently contained in sections 67-69 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. These powers have only been used once in the last five years, when the Secretary of State appointed an Interim Executive Board at Ettingshall Primary School in Wolverhampton in May 2007.

Secondary Education: Teachers

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what percentage of classes in  (a) academy and  (b) non-academy secondary schools were taken by unqualified teachers without assistance in academic year (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08;
	(2)  what percentage of those teaching classes unassisted in  (a) academy and  (b) non-academy state secondary schools were qualified school teachers in academic year (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Tim Byles

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the duties are of Mr. Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools.

Jim Knight: As Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, Tim Byles is responsible for delivering the Building Schools for the Future programme and the procurement of Academy schools, within the policy framework set by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. He is responsible for the day to day management of Partnerships for Schools' executive functions as set out in a number of formal documents, including a remit letter issued by the Department. The Chief Executive is also Partnerships for Schools' Accounting Officer and his responsibilities in that context are set out in the Treasury memorandum The Responsibilities of a Non Department Public Body (NDPB) Accounting Officer.

Youth Inclusion Programme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009 to question 256435, what high scores for both deprivation and crime were used to determine which estates were selected.

Beverley Hughes: The Youth Justice Board established the first 70 youth inclusion programmes in 2000. In England, the areas were identified using a combination of the (then) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions' Index of Local Deprivation and youth offending teams' own data and knowledge of local levels of crime. Youth offending teams will have also considered other factors, such as local levels of school attendance or unemployment. The Welsh Assembly Government selected the areas in Wales. Since 2005, youth offending teams have determined the areas themselves using the Youth Justice Board's guidance which advises them to consider a range of crime, economic and population data. Youth offending teams have the flexibility to change the areas over time in order to reflect changing local circumstances.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Community Learning

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on community learning opportunities for women during the recession.

Maria Eagle: We work closely with colleagues on issues affecting women during the recession, including training and skills. Community-based learning opportunities are important at any time but during an economic downturn they are essential. Our 20 million Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities Fund continues to support opportunities for local adults to develop their skills for employment. We also recently announced a support package for Community Learning Champions, who will act as a vital link between learners and providers.

Minority Representation

John Barrett: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the representation of minorities in Parliament; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: We need Parliament to reflect all sections of society. Ethnic minorities and disabled people are grossly under-represented in Parliament. There are 15 ethnic minority MPs when proportionally there should be around 60. The imbalance is greater for ethnic minority women. There are only two. Action taken to redress this under-representation includes:
	Using the Equality Bill to extend the time in which political parties can use women-only shortlists to 2030
	Establishing a Speaker's Conference to consider the under representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people in the House of Commons.

Trafficked Women

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on levels of funding for non-governmental organisations working to assist trafficked women who have been raped and who are unable to obtain assistance from other sources.

Maria Eagle: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, of which I am a member, regularly discusses this subject.
	As part of the UK's commitment to implementing the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Government have awarded 3.7 million over the next two financial years to the POPPY Project. This grant will be used for national support services for victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. The Government have also implemented a National Referral Mechanism to help facilitate victims of trafficking into the appropriate support and protection.

Equal Pay

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the trade union movement on equal pay.

Maria Eagle: My colleagues and I have met many trade union representatives in the run up to launching of the Equality Bill. Our discussions have often included equal pay issues. The Government and the trade unions have a shared interest in promoting equality of pay between women and men.